Love or Fear

One could argue that the two strongest motivating forces in the universe are LOVE and FEAR. Most significant actions taken by people are ultimately rooted in one or the other, maybe even both. More specifically, our relationships are ultimately rooted in one or the other, or both.

Stop and take a minute to evaluate the significant relationships in your life (your spouse, your kids, your parents, your closest friends, God, your boss, etc.). Think about how you feel about the person in each relationship. What are your feelings based on? Is your treatment of that person based on love or fear or a mix of both? What is the way you talk about that person based on?

As I think about the reationships in my life, I can't help but wonder which is the stronger motivating force. Am I driven to develop the relationships in my life based more on love or fear? I am pretty sure I know the right answer to this question, but it doesn't really matter what I think. I want to challenge you to consider the question for yourself as you evaluate the relationships in your life, especially the closest ones.

Just to reveal a bit of my thinking, I want to explore my relationship with God. What motivates me to develop my relationship with God? Do I LOVE God? Do I FEAR God? The answer to both questions is a resounding YES!!!

I fear God because of His unlimited power. I fear Him because He is perfect and I clearly am not. I fear God because He has the power to send me to Hell. I fear God because I know I don't deserve to ever be in His presence and can't possibly earn a place in Heaven. I fear God because He is everything and I am nothing!

I love God because of the fact that He has unlimited power and still loves me anyway. I love God because He is perfect and I am not, but He loves me anyway. I love God because He has the power to send me to Hell, but loves me so much that He made a way for me to escape that punishment. I love God because I don't deserve to be in His presence, but He desperately desires for me to be in His presence anyway. I love God because I can't earn a place in Heaven, but He has promised me a place there anyway. I love God because He is everything and I am nothing, but He wants me and loves me anyway.

My point here is that fear motivates action and can be very powerful. Fear will make me obedient. Fear will make me do what I'm "supposed" to do. However, love will accomplish all of those things and more. Love makes me WANT to do those things with all of my heart.

What are your relationships based on? When LOVE is your motivating force, you will experience true joy. When FEAR is your motivating force, you might succeed, but I'm afriad you will experience something a bit short of "true joy". Just something to think about!