As Christians, how do we motivate ourselves to godly behaviour? The most common approaches are (i) fear, or (ii) pride. Some parents motivate their children through the fear of punishment or missing a reward, or pride of not being like those naughty children. The problem is both approaches fail at the very point they’re trying to succeed.
If our motivation for not lying is fear of being caught out, there will come a time when we are more afraid of being caught out for that thing we did, than for lying about it. Or if we avoid lying because we don’t want to be known as a liar (pride), there will come a time when it will be more important for our reputation to lie, than for people to know what we’re really like. So what do we do?
In Titus 2, Paul outlines godly behaviour in v. 1-10. He then explains why we should pursue this list; ‘FOR the grace of God has appeared’. In v. 12 Paul says it is this grace (i.e. the gospel message) that teaches us to ‘say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live […] godly lives’. So how does God’s grace do this? Well it can’t be through fear of punishment, because Jesus has already paid that for us. Nor can it be through fear of missing out on heaven, because that’s already locked in. Furthermore, the gospel jettisons ALL pride … for it tells us we are spiritually bankrupt.
The answer is ‘love and gratitude’. When we see what Jesus has done for us, in giving himself up for us (V. 14), it makes us love him deeply, and want to serve him out of immense gratitude. So let us fix our eyes on Jesus; for he and he alone can motivate Christians to godly behaviour.
Brendan McLaughlin
