Paul: carrots or sticks?
What motivates us? Do we have ideals, goals or ambitions that keep us going? Or do we have to be pushed, by others, by sanctions or by necessity?
And what motivation do we find, specifically, in the good news of Jesus Christ? The promise of heaven or the fear of hell? A carrot or a stick?
Evangelistic preaching in the past has made a lot of use of both the carrot and the stick. Hell-fire preaching is totally out of fashion these days - a gospel that is based on fear is no gospel, and a response based on fear is not a free response. On the other hand, 'pie in the sky when you die' is equally derided, as self-interested escapism.
Nevertheless, hell and heaven exist, and should remain factors in our planning, our daily living. That is not to say, though, that either should be the mainspring of our motivation. Sticks and carrots may be the only ways of making a donkey move. But human beings are not donkeys.
What motivated the apostle Paul? He was, I think, driven initially by sticks. His consuming sense of duty, of obedience to a law that threatened judgment to the disobedient, was at the heart of his ruthless persecution of the early church. And even when he devoted his life to the service of Jesus, he still feared that if he didn't come up to the mark he might be 'disqualified for the prize' (1 Cor. 9:27).
Not only a stick, however, but also a carrot. As Paul came to know Christ, and to understand the comprehensive sweep of God's purposes, he was inspired to persevere by the vision of the 'crown of righteousness' which the Lord would award to him on the last day (2 Tim. 4:8).
At the core of Paul's life in Christ, however, was a motivation above sticks or carrots. Life itself was Christ; Christ's love controlled him. If it is true that in Jesus we are made new, we can be motivated by his love for everyone, by the amazing privilege of being his representatives, and by the intrinsic worthwhileness of our work and our place in the world.
This is what a sceptical world is waiting to see.
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