I hate it when people pretend like there are no motivations behind their actions. Do they seriously think I was born yesterday and that I can’t see right through their blank eyes? What I love to hate most about those people is the smugness they show when gloating over their perceived victory when I verbally agree with them to get rid of them from my life. Then they get mad! Let’s be real, your intention was to get over, how are you really going to get mad because I got over on you and left you holding the ball you were supposed to take care of in the first place? But all of us have motivations behind the actions we take, don’t we? We’re no better than the very people we hate. We are motivated by selfish desires and that’s what we act on. Often times we act on them to our detriment. Just look at the stock market if you don’t believe me, how many big banks posted major losses based on a blind trading fury fueled by speculative greed? It’s really awesome how hypocritical we are when it comes down to it. We need to stop playing games and cease to pretend like our actions are randomly poised through benevolent chance. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Thessalonians 1:3 The Apostle Paul demonstrates what our motivations should be as Christ followers and what they aren’t as depraved humans. What we see here is a pointed dichotomy of motivations demarcating people who act with power and good news and people who act with no semblance of power or good news. Actions that bring good tidings and supernatural power stem forth from a faith, love and hope in a Savior God that is Jesus Christ. This should be the underlying rationale behind all of our motivations for action. I understand we’re all human and running in some large rat race where cheese is constantly being moved; but shouldn’t we be trying to make Jesus the motivations of our actions as best as we can? Of course we should! If our motivations lay in Jesus’ redemptive work in society; that is, to see God radically change the fundamental principles guiding this world through His mercy and grace, then we must act like we want to see it. Our motivation is to see that radical change through the power of love. Our actions must become extensions of that longing to see this redemptive work through. Just think about how differently you would approach situations and circumstances if this was your sole motivation. It may be difficult for us to wrap our heads around how each and every action we take is motivated by faith, love and hope in Jesus Christ, so let me break it down further. A “work produced by faith,” or actions motivated by our faith in Jesus, are activities that stretch us beyond the scope and nature of our being. That is, we do things (positive things) that are uncharacteristic of us because they go beyond the scope of our norm. When we are motivated to engage in activities that stretch us this way, we are producing work through faith. It takes faith to do something that would stretch us. Likewise, a “labor prompted by love” is not love of self. It is anything that you do self-sacrificially. Meaning that you may lose yourself in the process. Yet you lose yourself knowing that it was Jesus who first lost himself by giving up his rights as God to walk amongst us as a man. Finally, we must make light of the fact anything and everything we do, regardless of how shameful we may think it is, is done so knowing and trusting that one day God will show His power in this world in a very unexpected and glorious way. Our motivations are often protections for our ego, but do we need the protection? The implications of this is simple: every time we decide to act, we should consciously make the choice to be motivated by faith, love and hope in Jesus Christ. If you truly want to bring glory to God, let people see these as the motivations of your actions.