My Wrong Motivations

[Introverted1293]

I surrender to Jesus out of fear of God's wrath, but not out of love. I do not know how to surrender to him out of love. I want to turn from my sin in fact I am working on that right now.

I fear for my soul and I fear for my life. But Christians have told me that my motivations are wrong. I have argued with them in the past, but now I'm thinking maybe they could be right.

How does one surrender to Jesus with the right motivation? I can't seem to work up the right motivation.

 

[Sarah G van G]

I came to love Lord Jesus Christ because of His mercy. As a child and young adult I didn't have a genuine love or appreciation of just what Jesus Christ is or of the sheer awesomeness of His birth, life, teachings, suffering on the cross and ultimate resurrection. I only came to love and appreciation through the prodigal son route. I let myself live in hellish conditions until I was thoroughly broken and done (I didn't set out to do that but that is how my choices turned out) and only then could I really cry out to Jesus.
It blows my mind that I am forgiven for all the very, very wicked things I indulged in. Every time I think of it, the whole entire supernatural incredible everything of the creation, virgin birth, life of Christ...everything...I am just blown away. I don't recommend this path to anyone though! So, I am looking forward to replies with more practical advice as to how to cultivate love for Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[RC1970]

I surrender to Jesus out of fear of God's wrath, but not out of love. I do not know how to surrender to him out of love. I want to turn from my sin in fact I am working on that right now.

I fear for my soul and I fear for my life. But Christians have told me that my motivations are wrong. I have argued with them in the past, but now I'm thinking maybe they could be right.

How does one surrender to Jesus with the right motivation? I can't seem to work up the right motivation.

Start with a small act of praise and do it every day. I would suggest reciting one of the great praise Psalms, such as Psalm 95, 98, 145, 148 and 150. Say them out loud, if you can.

Next, find some small thing you can do to be helpful to other people. Volunteer at church or somewhere in your community.

Remember, biblical love is not primarily something you feel, it's something you do.

 

[“Paisios”]

I surrender to Jesus out of fear of God's wrath, but not out of love. I do not know how to surrender to him out of love. I want to turn from my sin in fact I am working on that right now.

I fear for my soul and I fear for my life. But Christians have told me that my motivations are wrong. I have argued with them in the past, but now I'm thinking maybe they could be right.

How does one surrender to Jesus with the right motivation? I can't seem to work up the right motivation.

Fear of punishment is inherently self-centered, focusing in on what happens to you. Love is inherently other-centered (and ultimately God-centered), focusing on what happens to God, your brothers/sisters in Christ, your neighbor, and your enemy. Try to focus your heart and mind more on what you are doing for God and your neighbor, and less on your own needs and thoughts, and your heart will begin to change. Faith is belief in action.

(I don't mean to sound holier-than-thou - forgive me - ...I struggle with this all the time, and do not think of myself as wiser or better, nor do I mean to sound like I am judging you. I am inherently selfish, and it seems that the message of the Cross is giving that up. Jesus spoke of this often - take up your cross nad follow me; it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Me, etc....)

 

[DogmaHunter]

I've always wondered about the "logic" behind having to "fear" a loving, benevolent god.

 

[Dave-W]

I've always wondered about the "logic" behind having to "fear" a loving, benevolent god.

Different usage of the word than we have.

 

[Introverted1293]

Thank you

 

[Introverted1293]

Start with a small act of praise and do it every day. I would suggest reciting one of the great praise Psalms, such as Psalm 95, 98, 145, 148 and 150. Say them out loud, if you can.

Next, find some small thing you can do to be helpful to other people. Volunteer at church or somewhere in your community.

Remember, biblical love is not primarily something you feel, it's something you do.

I can do that.

 

[Introverted1293]

Fear of punishment is inherently self-centered, focusing in on what happens to you. Love is inherently other-centered (and ultimately God-centered), focusing on what happens to God, your brothers/sisters in Christ, your neighbor, and your enemy. Try to focus your heart and mind more on what you are doing for God and your neighbor, and less on your own needs and thoughts, and your heart will begin to change. Faith is belief in action.

(I don't mean to sound holier-than-thou - forgive me - ...I struggle with this all the time, and do not think of myself as wiser or better, nor do I mean to sound like I am judging you. I am inherently selfish, and it seems that the message of the Cross is giving that up. Jesus spoke of this often - take up your cross nad follow me; it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Me, etc....)

No, I don't believe you are trying to sound holier than me. I appreciate what you've said. Thank you

And it is true. It is selfish. So my prayer is that God destroys all form of selfishness in my heart.

 

[Introverted1293]

I came to love Lord Jesus Christ because of His mercy. As a child and young adult I didn't have a genuine love or appreciation of just what Jesus Christ is or of the sheer awesomeness of His birth, life, teachings, suffering on the cross and ultimate resurrection. I only came to love and appreciation through the prodigal son route. I let myself live in hellish conditions until I was thoroughly broken and done (I didn't set out to do that but that is how my choices turned out) and only then could I really cry out to Jesus.
It blows my mind that I am forgiven for all the very, very wicked things I indulged in. Every time I think of it, the whole entire supernatural incredible everything of the creation, virgin birth, life of Christ...everything...I am just blown away. I don't recommend this path to anyone though! So, I am looking forward to replies with more practical advice as to how to cultivate love for Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[zephcom]

I surrender to Jesus out of fear of God's wrath, but not out of love. I do not know how to surrender to him out of love. I want to turn from my sin in fact I am working on that right now.

I fear for my soul and I fear for my life. But Christians have told me that my motivations are wrong. I have argued with them in the past, but now I'm thinking maybe they could be right.

How does one surrender to Jesus with the right motivation? I can't seem to work up the right motivation.

I think ShoeToYou's advise is helpful. Doing anything because one is afraid of wrath, be it God's or just another human, is completely unhealthy. Two things happen, one is that you encourage more wrath when someone finds it is effective, the other is that you become a totally miserable person because you allow another to control you.

What Jesus calls people to do is to live a life that expresses His teachings. Most of His teachings are contrary to how humans are used to living. One doesn't love one's enemies, one doesn't stifle lust in one's heart, one doesn't live a humble life, one doesn't give away wealth to follow Jesus and one certainly doesn't trust God with their very existence.

These are all things which are centered on other people and not on oneself. They are things that make others more important and you less important. It flies in the face of all things human.

But it can be done. One starts by making a conscious effort to do little things as often as one can remember to do them. Hold the door open for others even if the other is someone you don't like. Look women in the eye when talking to them regardless of how attractive they are. Smile at people even when they glare at you. (that one drives others crazy) Drive courteously even when you are late.

What will happen is gradually you will do these things without thinking about them. You are forming a habit when you consciously think of others first. Once these small things become a habit, consciously start tackling larger things. Offer to work on a community event, join a community oriented organization where things you know how to do can be used to benefit others, start bringing in cans of coffee for the break room...all the time so others don't have to.

Soon that becomes a habit too. My guess is that about this time, you will find your concern about yourself will fall away and become replaced with a concern for those around you. And you will find that you are happier than you ever have been because helping others is the greatest work of life.

And that is really all following Jesus is about. It is lifting others up who are behind you and pushing those ahead of you even further ahead. And it all starts when you see someone without a smile and you give them one of yours.

 

[Introverted1293]

I think ShoeToYou's advise is helpful. Doing anything because one is afraid of wrath, be it God's or just another human, is completely unhealthy. Two things happen, one is that you encourage more wrath when someone finds it is effective, the other is that you become a totally miserable person because you allow another to control you.

What Jesus calls people to do is to live a life that expresses His teachings. Most of His teachings are contrary to how humans are used to living. One doesn't love one's enemies, one doesn't stifle lust in one's heart, one doesn't live a humble life, one doesn't give away wealth to follow Jesus and one certainly doesn't trust God with their very existence.

These are all things which are centered on other people and not on oneself. They are things that make others more important and you less important. It flies in the face of all things human.

But it can be done. One starts by making a conscious effort to do little things as often as one can remember to do them. Hold the door open for others even if the other is someone you don't like. Look women in the eye when talking to them regardless of how attractive they are. Smile at people even when they glare at you. (that one drives others crazy) Drive courteously even when you are late.

What will happen is gradually you will do these things without thinking about them. You are forming a habit when you consciously think of others first. Once these small things become a habit, consciously start tackling larger things. Offer to work on a community event, join a community oriented organization where things you know how to do can be used to benefit others, start bringing in cans of coffee for the break room...all the time so others don't have to.

Soon that becomes a habit too. My guess is that about this time, you will find your concern about yourself will fall away and become replaced with a concern for those around you. And you will find that you are happier than you ever have been because helping others is the greatest work of life.

And that is really all following Jesus is about. It is lifting others up who are behind you and pushing those ahead of you even further ahead. And it all starts when you see someone without a smile and you give them one of yours.

Everything you said I know is very true. It will be a challenge for me. I have social anxiety. I'm am sometimes afraid to look at people in the eye. I'm afraid of being glared at so a lot of times when people talk to me I look at their feet. That is how nervous people make me sometimes. But I know that with training I could learn to look at people in the eye and learn to smile at people even if they do glare at me.

 

[zephcom]

Everything you said I know is very true. It will be a challenge for me. I have social anxiety. I'm am sometimes afraid to look at people in the eye. I'm afraid of being glared at so a lot of times when people talk to me I look at their feet. That is how nervous people make me sometimes. But I know that with training I could learn to look at people in the eye and learn to smile at people even if they do glare at me.

One step at a time. Smile at a stranger first. Just remember, you are creating habits. Each time you do something for others, is just one more step to making it a habit.

I don't remember the time, if it ever happened, that someone glared at me for holding the door open for them.

But there is one more piece of advice that has helped me, don't dwell on failures. Look them over, take whatever information you can use to avoid the failure in the future and then drop it like a bad habit. Dwelling on failure is toxic to the spirit.

Learn from it but don't pack it around for the rest of your life. Be open, be helpful, be willing to go the extra mile, be cheerful, but learn to look others in the eye while you are doing it.

Remember, you are becoming a human conduit for Divine Love to flow into the world and you need not be ashamed of doing it.

Celebrate the victories when you help others in even the tiniest of ways, learn from the failures and then toss them. We are given a life here in this realm to learn and grow. Learning and growing means there will be failures and there will be successes.

And don't worry about God. He'll know that your journey is an honest one as you walk the life Jesus taught. Each time you lift another person up, you lift up Jesus too.

 

[Introverted1293]

One step at a time. Smile at a stranger first. Just remember, you are creating habits. Each time you do something for others, is just one more step to making it a habit.

I don't remember the time, if it ever happened, that someone glared at me for holding the door open for them.

But there is one more piece of advice that has helped me, don't dwell on failures. Look them over, take whatever information you can use to avoid the failure in the future and then drop it like a bad habit. Dwelling on failure is toxic to the spirit.

Learn from it but don't pack it around for the rest of your life. Be open, be helpful, be willing to go the extra mile, be cheerful, but learn to look others in the eye while you are doing it.

Remember, you are becoming a human conduit for Divine Love to flow into the world and you need not be ashamed of doing it.

Celebrate the victories when you help others in even the tiniest of ways, learn from the failures and then toss them. We are given a life here in this realm to learn and grow. Learning and growing means there will be failures and there will be successes.

And don't worry about God. He'll know that your journey is an honest one as you walk the life Jesus taught. Each time you lift another person up, you lift up Jesus too.

True


Jesus did say that what you do to the least of these you do it unto him.

 

[DogmaHunter]

Different usage of the word than we have.

What do you mean?

 

[Dave-W]

What do you mean?

Fear had several words in the original languages. The idea in Hebrew was a deep honorable respect instead of something that makes you want to run away.

 

[DogmaHunter]

Fear had several words in the original languages. The idea in Hebrew was a deep honorable respect instead of something that makes you want to run away.

Then why do theists use the word "fear"? I'll go ahead and assume that the ancient hebrews didn't write their texts in english...

 

[zephcom]

Fear had several words in the original languages. The idea in Hebrew was a deep honorable respect instead of something that makes you want to run away.

Of course that doesn't explain why people today use the word fear. If a translation is unable to convey the true meaning, it is worthless at best and dangerous at worst.

Fear in modern English has a very specific meaning. And that meaning is NOT 'deep honorable respect'.

 

[durangodawood]

Thank you for sharing.

Hey I've climbed that mountain in your avatar! A few times.