Our Motive For Living

Last night, I attended a home Bible study on the book of Proverbs, and one theme seemed to predominate. A number of the men had problems understanding the will of God in how they conducted their business practices and relationships – about how much time was allowable away from their families, about how insistent they should be about their “rights” and “privileges” in business, about what is the “right” amount of material desires.
In my early years, I thought that certain actions were “good” when you could see “good” effects, and other actions were “bad” when you could see “bad” effects. But this is a wrong simplification of sin.
But I grew to understand what the world does not understand – that “good” has the MOTIVE of depending on God’s strength and that “evil” or “sin” has the MOTIVE of depending on our own strength.
My early definition of “sin” was that “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). But this definition can be deceiving because it does not take into consideration the MOTIVE behind the action.
Some actions of sin are well-defined in the Bible such as adultery in marriage, premeditated murder, etc. There is a black and white understanding of sin here. But other actions are less defined and depend much on the MOTIVE of the person.
A rich man can give a million dollars to a hospital which seems to be a good action of love of neighbor. But if the MOTIVE for giving is to aggrandize himself to others and receive public acknowledgment, then the action, for him, is the SIN of pride.
Our MOTIVE for Christian living, and thus all of the choices stemming from that living, can be one of only two. Our MOTIVE can be to depend on or trust in God to lead and empower our life – and then our choice of action will follow that motive. Or our MOTIVE can be our own independent strength and leadership – we might call this a motive of independence – and then our choice of action will follow that independent motive.
MOTIVES have to do with faith. Galatians 2:20, my favorite verse in the Bible, has a little two-letter word which I overlooked for years. And I am really just now coming into an understanding of its application in daily living. The verse says that “…I live by the faith OF the Son of God…”. Notice it does not say that I live by faith IN Christ. I thought that this must be a mis-translation; those old “King-Jamers” were at it again. But the original Greek reinforces and even emphasizes that it is Christ’s faith that is meant.
The Bible does say that we are to grow in faith. What does all this mean? It sounds like double-talk to say that I am to grow in MY faith in CHRIST’S faith. But a little study and teaching by the Holy Spirit clears up the matter.
Before conversion, our motive for our faith in how we live is an independent motivation to live by our own resources. We inherited this independence from Adam and Eve as carried down through history. Finally, one day, we recognize that this motive just does not work. We’ve failed miserably. The Bible says that at this point God gives us a “measure of faith”. We get a sampling of “spiritual dependent faith”, just enough to get us to call out for a Savior. And when we do, God does what He promised. He recreates us into a new species, a MEMBER of His Family. Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit come to live IN US.
I always thought that this “measure of faith” had to grow spiritually and get stronger and stronger in ME. But I have come to see that the measure of faith was only for the “old man”. And he is dead! The TOTAL UNLIMITED FAITH OF CHRIST is what I have now. I am a “new man”. Christ living in my human spirit now makes me so.
But there is still a ME involved in this union of spirits. My human soul must still line up with the faith of Christ in my spirit. How does this work? By AWARENESS! My awareness of who I am in the Family of God is the key. Paul said “Pray always”. I see this to mean that in everything that I see and do, keep in my soul-mind at a level in the high subconscious that awareness. And this awareness is the MOTIVATION to live by the FAITH OF CHRIST.
I can’t “work up faith and motivation”. I can’t “grow in faith and motivation”. I can only keep awareness of who I am in the forefront.
How does this understanding help my friends make proper business decisions? They must not allow themselves to slip into independent thought and desire in their businesses. They must keep a constant awareness of their human weakness and Christ’s strengthening faith and motivation. Give and take expression of prayer will provide confidence in the guidance and leadership of the Spirit of God.

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