By Jesse Jost

Apart from enough motivation, growth and positive change are nearly impossible. As followers of Christ, we have a call to grow in holiness and to daily become more like Christ. We are also to grow in good works as we seek to bring Christ’s love and healing to this hurting and broken world.

But without strong internal motivation to actively pursue these things, we grow stagnant, or worse, we grow cold and apathetic, and surrender to the forces of destruction and decay.

We can rail and scold and threaten all we want, but apart from a healthy source of motivation, (and Spiritual power) all commanding of the will is weak and ineffective. I want to be clear up front that to be saved or regenerated, no amount of human motivation will be enough to bring change, we need a supernatural new birth. I am talking about our part in sanctification that is influenced by our efforts or lack there of. What will we choose to build with on the foundation we have been given? Will it be wood, hay and stubble? Or something enduring? (1 Cor 3:11-14)

Where do we look for effective motivation to obey the divine call to holiness that is on our lives?

POISONOUS SOURCES OF MOTIVATION

Before we discuss positive motivation, I think it’s important to examine the destructive sources of motivation that people often turn to when they want change.

Guilt

Guilt is a powerful motivator. The psychological pain of regret and self-loathing is excruciating and we will do just about anything to be free of it. The problem with being motivated by guilt is that there’s nothing we can ultimately do to atone for our wrong deeds. No amount of good deeds can wash away the stain or undo the damage. Guilt is a slave driver that drives a painful and purposeless treadmill. It is like digging your way out of a hole. The harder you work the worse the problem gets. Guilt only leads to burnout and discouragement.

Fear

Our mind has a potent imagination factory that produces startling horror movies of the future. These images can exert a strong control over us. We all have a strong aversion to loss and Satan can uses these made up (and false) glimpses of the future like puppet strings, pulling us away from the life of faith and surrender God is calling us to.

Please note the fear I am talking about here is different from the fear of God or an awareness of consequences. These are appropriate responses to God’s revealed truth. I am warning against Satan’s psychological manipulation that is based on lies and distortion, manipulation that works by casting doubt on God’s goodness or His sovereignty.

Approval of Man

Jesus warns very strongly against doing our good deeds to be seen by men. God cares about why we do things not just what we do. The fear of man brings a snare. (Proverbs 29:25)

This seeking men’s approval is, in some ways, the basis of civilization in a fallen world. People who are alone, and have had the restraining influence of “what will people think” removed, are often disgusted by the filth that rises to the surface of their own hearts.

The shame and praise we live for can have a dynamic effect on the outside, but will be impotent to change the inside. Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7) The danger in living for man’s approval is the opportunity for self-deception. Because we can selectively edit the image we want to project, it is relatively easy appear more sanctified that we really are. When we live by the appraisal of men, we may believe we are as holy as we appear and fail to notice spiritual cancers that are slowly eroding our character.

Another problem in living for man’s approval is that it can be incredibly demotivating. A few words of criticism, or even lack of recognition can be discouraging, and cause us to shrug, “Why bother?” But God’s call for diligent obedience is for Him and His glory. He sees and notices. The fact that men wrongly interpret things or fail to notice doesn’t change the eternal value of obedience.

Comparing and Competition

Continue reading…

By Jesse Jost

There is something so tantalizing about a conspiracy theory. It helps us make sense of the evil in this world to place the blame for societal decay on some secret organization, or sinister plot that is going on behind the scenes. I am fascinated by conspiracy ideas, they make for best sellers and great entertainment. But are conspiracy theories spiritually beneficial to us? I don’t think so and here’s why:

1. They create intellectual pride.

Our pride is fed by the belief that we have access to information to which the ignorant masses are unaware. We feel good, knowing we are among the “enlightened ones.” Satan uses conspiracy theories to make us feel “wise in our own eyes.” We enter dangerous territory: “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (Proverbs 26:12)

We need to realize that we are all prone to seeing patterns where none exist. We suffer from confirmation bias that only allows us to recognize evidence that confirms our theory and discount everything else. And we have motivated reasoning that makes us prone to self deception. Only by a humble acknowledgement of our own fallibility and a deep dependence on God’s spirit to guide us to truth can we minimize the blinding effects of pride.

2. They cause us to lose credibility.

Intellectual pride blinds us. While we feel that we are more likely see through shams and less likely to be duped, we actually become more susceptible to both. When Christians are quick to share conspiracy theories or urban legends, our role as ambassadors is damaged. We are to be prophets of truth and one of our most important messages is the miraculous, but also historical, resurrection of Christ. When our unbelieving neighbours see us believing stuff that a quick trip to snopes.com would easily dispel, how can they trust that our proclamation of the resurrection or our faith in God’s word is credible?

3. They cause fear and discouragement.

A common implied message accompanying conspiracy theories is that certain problems are too big for anybody to handle. Power is entrenched in high places, and there is nothing we can do about it except be faithful Chicken Littles warning that the sky is falling. I’m all for exposing corruption and shedding light on a problem, but only for the sake of a call to action accompanied by practical steps we can take to reduce or eliminate the problem. What we need more than ever is hope. When we lose vision for how we can make a difference, evil starts to win. Continue reading…

By Jesse Jost

A glory weed threatens to strangle me. Its ravenous appetite for praise, recognition, and social media likes devours moments where my strengths are on display. Twined by its thorny embrace, I am jealous of others’ chances to shine, and frustrated when platforms are denied me. I can be reduced to a pathetic approval addict, compulsively checking my phone or computer for likes and comments. With deep-reaching thorns, my glory weed stabs my ego, tormenting me with past criticisms and a haunting sense of being rejected and ignored.

I hate this weed. Yet nothing feels as good as watering it by revelling in past successes and words of praise.

My predicament goes much deeper than my glory weed. I also have a deadly form of spiritual cancer that is attacking my passions and desires. Physical cancer corrupts healthy tissues into a lethal, spreading force. In the same way, my cancer perverts healthy, God-given desires into enslaving passions that grow painful tumours on my soul. My cancer is my selfishness, my greed for my will, done in my way, in my time. It morphs my sex drive into lust, my desire for justice into a cruel passion for revenge, my hunger into gluttony, my protective instincts into anxiety and fear-based control, my need for love into a crippling pursuit of approval, and my worshipping into idolatry. The reach of such a soul cancer is broad and terrifying. A godly desire to use my gifts for God’s glory has often metastasized into a yearning for self-promotion.

I am troubled by the disease and enslavement within, but am often at a loss for how to deal with them. Fasts and self-discipline have been impotent to bring lasting change. I can clean up fairly nice on the outside. I have been a Christian long enough to know the right things to say that will make me sound humble, godly, and spiritual. But deep down I see too clearly that the person I truly am is nowhere near as Christ-like as the person I want you to see. Continue reading…

By Jesse Jost

Its been said that the person we are becoming is shaped by the people we hang out with and the books we read. These are some of the best books that I have ever read; they have stirred me, convicted me, and also brought great pleasure. They are listed below in no particular order, but organized by category. I highly recommend any book on this list! Comment below on the books that have had the biggest impact on you or brought you the most joy. Happy reading!

ChristianLiving/Theology

Unoffendable by Brant Hansen

Very impacting book that set me free from a lot of self righteous anger and my critical spirit that so often “wounds me.” So good!

Look and Live: Behold the Soul-Thrilling, Sin-Destroying Glory of Christ by Matt Papa

One of several books I’ve read lately that keep me focused on Jesus and the power of the Gospel. Jesus truly becomes more desirable and awesome to me with each passing year.

Eyes Wide Open by Steve DeWitt

Really opened my eyes to the beauty of God and how much we miss.

Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves

Showed how the love exemplified in the trinity is the foundation for a correct understanding of all theology. Amazing book.

The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken

A man discouraged and feeling abandoned finds the power of God among the most persecuted Christians around the world. Makes you squirm, but is so faith affirming.

The Skeletons in God’s Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgment, the Hope of Holy War by Joshua Ryan Butler

As someone who has struggled with doubts about God’s goodness because of the doctrine of hell and the God-sanctioned brutality in the Old Testament, this book was so refreshing and convicting. Hell and Judgement day are not truths that call God’s goodness into question, they are great proofs of His passionate love for His creation. God has a love with teeth that will not stop until He has removed the hell from our hearts, and hell from from His glorious creation. Judgement day is good news for the down-trodden and oppressed and all who are in Christ Jesus.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis Continue reading…