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What the Bible says about Intrinsic Motivation
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The ultimate fulfillment of of the process implicitly mentioned in Jeremiah 31:31-34 will culminate when we are completely composed of spirit, and God's law will be our first nature, not just second nature. But, while we are in an embryonic stage, the process has already begun in us, incrementally, as God gradually displaces our carnality and sin, replacing it with His Holy Spirit, leading to righteous behavior and godliness. Actually, no human being is completely converted, but many people are in various stages of conversion.

Conversion, then, is a life-long process in which we move from a reactive approach to lawkeeping—motivated by rewards and punishments—to a proactive approach—motivated by a deeply placed inner desire to yield and comply to the law's principles, knowing intrinsically from experience that they work for the good and harmony of all. (Proactive is a term author-speaker Steven Covey uses to distinguish internal motivation to do or accomplish something as opposed to external motivation.)

As the process of conversion begins, God must use carrots and sticks to keep us moving in the right direction. The blessings and curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 served as carrots and sticks to encourage righteous and godly behavior in our Israelite forebears. God uses carrots and sticks in the early part of our calling—for instance, the carrot of the Place of Safety and the stick of the Tribulation—and literally drives us into a frantic study of prophecy. Carrots and sticks have motivated our educational system in the forms of gold stars, grades, praise, trophies, extra homework, and detention.

Recently, Dr. Alfie Kohn, in his book, Punished By Rewards, questions the long-term effects of external motivators, such as grades, financial incentives, gold stars, or tokens, to sustain learning behavior. He supplies some surprising evidence that carrots and sticks—reflecting the philosophy, "Do this and you'll get that"— actually become detrimental in the long run, diverting the focus away from the learning outcome onto the reward or punishment. Dr. Kohn, Dr. Jerome Bruner, and a host of other educators suggest that internal motivators, such as satisfying curiosity, imitating role models, and attaining competency, work better to motivate over the long term than do G.P.A.'s, scholarships and grants, and other external incentives.

To illustrate this, one of the supreme tragedies in the music world occurred when the government of Finland supplied composer Jean Sibelius a guaranteed pension and a large mansion in the woods near Jarvenpaa. After this huge reward, an external motivation, not one musical idea—not one note!—emanated from his pen. Likewise, our spiritual growth and maturity will become stunted if our motivation for righteous behavior is externally determined rather than internally determined.

To an individual truly endowed with God's Spirit, the laws cranked out yearly in Washington, DC, our state capitals, and our local city halls should strike us as juvenile and elementary—or as one minister would call it—knee-pants stuff. Consider the carrots and sticks used by lawmakers to control litter: up to $1,000 fine for littering, or a sign reading, "This segment of highway adopted by Yourtown Jaycees."

These examples ignore the heart and core of the problem. Until the law gets from stone-tablet pages of the Scripture, or the statute books of a local, state, or federal assembly, into our hearts and minds—unless the motivation for doing what is right comes from the inside out—we are no more converted than a donkey. On second thought, a donkey at least behaves as it is programmed to act.

David F. Maas
Righteousness from Inside-Out

Romans 13:3

Notice "unafraid" because it has much to do with where the power of government resides. In the King James Version, it reads, "Will you not be afraid of the power?" Laws are stated and have penalties, but in most cases, that does not keep people from breaking them almost with impunity as long as nobody responsible for governing is looking. The government's power largely lies in coercion. Coercion means "forcible constraint or restraint, whether moral or physical." In other words, government functions largely through force—power. Paul is saying, "Will you not be afraid of the power of the government?”

Consider this simple illustration. Most people flagrantly disobey the speed limit on freeways and interstates, especially when they are not crowded. It is easy for the mind to say, "Hey! The way is open and clear. Why don't I go faster?"—until we spot a patrol car with a trooper or two in it. Suddenly, the speed limit becomes the norm—until the police care is out of sight. What are we afraid of? The power of the police! That government employee, the policeman, has the power to pull us over to the side of the road and fine us. Because of the fear that enters our mind—because suddenly we see the government's representative—we slow down and go the posted limit. Why do we not keep the speed limit whether the trooper is around and looking or not?

It is common knowledge that the power of the law, all by itself, is not enough to motivate us to keep it, even though we know the law well. We know a penalty is connected to that law. Yet we will still flagrantly disobey it until someone from the government is watching. Then, we are very conscious of the government's power to hurt us.

So, the law on the books is not of and by itself enough to make us obey it. But what Paul is getting at is that love toward God and man can motivate us to do what the law says. It can make us do what the law cannot do.

Paul claims that if we do this—that is, we are motivated by love—then we will automatically keep the commandments. A somewhat different, though weaker, conclusion is that Paul is saying that if we do not break the commandments, then we are acting out of love. This is why he lists the commandments shortly after this (Romans 13:8-10). So, within this context, the apostle is explaining that we cover every facet of our responsibility to God and man if we ensure love has its proper place as the motivation for all we do.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Love's Importance and Source

2 Corinthians 3:15-17

A carnal man cannot understand the law (Romans 8:7), for a veil keeps the meaning hidden. The converted man, however, has God's Spirit, the essence of the mind of God. An effect of God's Spirit is that where it is present, there is liberty (verse 17). It is not coincidental that the fruit of the Spirit includes self-control (Galatians 5:23). Where the Holy Spirit is working, the people will be self-governing, and the leaders will be self-governing. Because everybody keeps a tight rein on himself and is being led by God's Spirit, there is no need for heavy-handedness—for strict external enforcement—nor for people to live in fear of the leaders. The leaders will be serving, the people will be working and growing, and liberty will flourish.

Liberty exists where God's Spirit is at work because the people have the time and the space to grow and develop character. They will not act out of fear or because they feel that they have to. Everyone must practice forbearance and patience, as we allow God's other children the time and space to grow and develop character, just as they forbear with us as we grow and mature spiritually.

The controls, however, are internal rather than external. They will not be developed instantly because growth takes time. Proper judgment and discernment take a lifetime of personal experience with God to develop. Yet, when they are developed, they become permanent. They become eternal, which is what God is after.

It may seem like a risky proposition, and our Western nations are evidence that self-government without true internal controls cannot work. When people do not govern themselves, the human solution is a Nanny State. When the Nanny State falls apart—which it will—it typically ushers in either a Police State or occupation by a foreign power, which will impose order on those who will not govern themselves or provide for themselves when it is within their power.

But it need not be so for the church of God. If we have the Holy Spirit, we have the means to control ourselves and thus be free. This does not mean that external control will never be imposed upon us. The lives of Jesus and the apostles demonstrate that they were subject to governing authorities who exercised lordship over them. Yet, heavy-handed external control is not necessary when the Holy Spirit is working in the leadership and the people. That is what matters in God's purpose in bringing many sons to the same glory and liberty that He has.

David C. Grabbe
The Nanny Church (Part Two)


 




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