Apr

10

Does God use our guilt as a proper motivation?

April 10, 2008 |

Posted by Daniel Eaton · Filed Under General Discussion, Ministry, Random thoughts 

I know that God, through the Holy Spirit, uses our conscience to guide us to repent, but I’m talking about something else. My daughter is headed to the Dominican Republic for a month-long mission trip. She has sent out support letters trying to raise the necessary funds. Sending them out though is kind of like the parable of the sower, they are going to land on all kinds of ground. I expect that many will contribute to her trip because they like her and want to help her out. They may not even be Christians. Many will contribute because they feel God is directing to. But I also think that many will contribute because they are trying to appease their own guilt for never doing something similar - whether they ever specifically felt led to do it or just a general “go to all the world” kind of call.

From my daughter’s standpoint, every dollar raised is going to be equally used. But I’m curious about the blessings for those that contribute. Does the person trying to appease their own guilt get the same level of blessing as the guy or gal that can’t really afford a contribution but makes a sacrificial one because they believe God told them to? Is doing something out of guilt doing the right thing for the wrong reason? Or is it a case of doing the wrong thing for the wrong reason but God will work it out for the good of someone else? Or, does God use our guilt and wrong motives for His will? I don’t know the answer to this. I have a suspicion though that our motives are just as important to God as our actions and that good things done for the wrong motives won’t result in the same reward. I’d be curious of your thoughts. Is guilt a proper motivation?


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Steve Moore on April 10, 2008 3:27 pm

    Daniel,

    I’d argue that we need to be careful about our terms here so that we dont get caught up with semantics between your definitions and mine. ;^) Having said that…

    I believe if guilt is used to leverage behavior then what really is occuring is that we’re calling into question the believer’s position and standing before God. It calls into question then, the efficacy and extent of justification. For me, this is a no-no.

    This differs entirely from the effect of truth, scripture, the work of the Holy Spirit having an effect on the conscience when applied to a regenerate heart.

    I’m sure that God uses our wrong motives - rather, He works through them to superintend His ultimate end. I do not believe he calls the believer to question what Christ has done however (implying they might still be guilty). If a person is doing something motivated by guilt, meaning they wish to do something to appease God and positively influence their standing before God, it implies that the verdict (justified) has not actually been declared, and that human works do influence one’s position in Christ. This greatly contradicts grace, justification, etc.

    As such, to extend the logic a bit further, here’s something I recently posted over on P&P:

    “The concept of earned rewards is consistent with a Gospel that promises unconditional eternal happiness. Given the description of the blessings secured by every believer through faith, the idea that the loss of rewards could possibly render a Christian unhappy in heaven is patently absurd. The distinction can be illustrated by two employers, one who threatens his employees with severe salary cuts if they do not increase sales, and another who offers a bonus to his employees if they do. One group of employees is threatened with poverty; the other group is not. One should be suspicious of Evangelical leaders who ignore or minimize God’s unconditional blessings and cultivate fear of spiritual poverty in order to motivate followers to help them build their religious organizations. ”

    I believe that using guilt to manipulate believers into action and motivate them even for a good purpose is seriously wrong and troubling.

    I hope this helps provide some info for you. It’s a great, and I think very crucial question to ask. Thanks for raising it…

    -steve

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind

FireStats icon Powered by FireStats