"Motivation" Integrative Essay

Much of what we have talked about in class has related to the motivation behind how we choose to act. Right thinking does not always mean right living, but right living does not always mean right thinking either. In the articles we have read by C.S Lewis, and well as Engaging God’s World, by Cornelius Plantinga, we have learned how wrong motives can lead to detrimental side effects. We see this in our relationships with God, and with other people, in our education, the way we argue, and even simply obeying rules in general. No matter how hard we strive to live perfectly according to God’s laws, we are not going to be able to do it. Should this lead to frustration and defeat? Certainly not. But it should lead to careful reflection about the intentions of our hearts as we do our best to please our Maker. It is wise to consider how the motives behind our actions affect every area of our lives.

People often see Christianity as simply a list of rules- rules that God calls us to obey, but they argue that it is impossible and unreasonable for us to follow them all. In light of this, we should also evaluate the reasons why we choose to try to obey the rules that God has given us. Plantinga takes up this debate in chapter 4 of Engaging God’s World. The chapter is appropriately titled “Redemption”, and it essentially speaks of the need for us to see God’s commands in a different light. Plantinga points out that the rules God has given us are not a contract. They are not a condition to which God says “If you obey these, I will give you salvation”. The Israelites, for example, were given the Ten Commandments after they were delivered from slavery, not before (Plantinga 75). We, too, are given the instructions of Jesus from the gospels after He died for us. God’s commands are not conditional. There are consequences when we do not obey them, but mostly it is things that we bring on ourselves; sin wreaks its own havoc in our lives. Instead, God’s commands are guidelines to give His people freedom to the fullest extent, to help them flourish, to work towards shalom. God knows that we can never obey His commands perfectly, but it still honors Him to see us try. Martin Luther said, “Good works are not the cause, but the fruit of righteousness” (Plantinga 94). Our acts of obedience should not be motivated by a fear of the consequences for disobeying them, or even by a longing for rewards or recognition. Our obedience is a humble love-offering to God. Through obedience we communicate that we acknowledge that God knows better than we do.

Another popular idea today is that it is much better to simply create your own rules and morality to live by. Lewis argues against this perspective in his lecture “The Poison of Subjectivism”, by saying “This whole attempt to jettison traditional values as something subjective and to substitute a new scheme of values for them is wrong” (Lewis, “Poison” 2). We cannot make our own moral systems; it is like trying to enthrone our own logic. The very idea of subjectivism reveals our motives: they are thoroughly selfish and egocentric in nature. When we try to create our own laws, we are essentially telling God that we think we can do His job better than He can, and that we think our lives will be better off when we determine what we are going to do. When we put it like this, it seems ridiculous that anything would persuade us to try to do this. But that is how deeply our sinful nature runs in us. Plantinga says that when we place our faith in nature or in ourselves instead of God, the results are always disastrous (Plantinga 67).

Our discussion of motives also becomes very applicable when we consider why we interact with others in the way that we do. In class, we saw two examples of this. The first was our discussion of the chapter entitled Eros from Lewis’ book The Four Loves. This chapter discussed our motivations in romantic love: whether we pursue the warm, fuzzy feeling of “falling in love” (Eros), or the deep and real commitment of “being in love”. Lewis talks about how it is so tempting to idolize Eros himself, chasing after feelings and forgetting about the commitment that real love requires. He warns against using this motivation by saying, “When natural things look almost divine, the demoniac is just round the corner” (Lewis, “Eros” 144). It is never good to be motivated by Eros on a pedestal, because he does indeed look almost divine. But we know that true and real love sees Eros as only a part of the game, a part that needs to be controlled with a healthy dose of commitment. Lewis says, “It is we who must labour to bring our daily life into even closer accordance with what glimpses have revealed. We must do the works of Eros when Eros is not present” (159).

We must also think about our relationships with others in the context of our circles of acquaintances. Lewis refers to these as “Inner Rings” in his lecture to the students at the University of London. (Lewis, “Inner Ring”). Often, in our interactions with other people, we are motivated by the desire to get “in”. To be seen by others as part of an elite group or a certain circle. Because of this we manipulate, and attempt to control others to gain acceptance into their groups. Plantinga says that the purpose of acquiring skills should be to increase the amount of Shalom in the world, not be to impress the less skillful, or even to become more employable (Plantinga 131). But so often, this is why we do things. We strive to impress others, to make them jealous, to show that we can do something that they cannot, or that we are better than them in some way. Lewis says, “I must not as whether you have derived actual pleasure from the loneliness and humiliation of the outsiders” (“Inner Ring”). The desire to be accepted into these rings is not only dangerous and destructive, it is also addicting. Lewis draws an analogy between this and piercing through the layers of an onion. Just as there are many many layers, there is ring after ring to become a part of. And at the center, there is nothing but a wasted life and broken relationships. “Unless you take measures to prevent it, this desire is going to be one of the chief motives of your life”, Lewis warns (“Inner Ring”). In both love and work, we must see other people as immortal beings, created by God in His own image, and treat them as such. Lewis makes this point in his sermon “The Weight of Glory”, where he says, “All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities… that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics” (Lewis, “Weight”).

Our motives will also invariably affect the way that we approach our jobs. Plantinga highlights this by saying that the emphasis should be on “how you will do your job,” not which job we end up doing (Plantinga 117). Right now, we are students, called to Calvin College by a God who tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you” (Jeremiah 29:11). So just as we should approach a job with pure and right motives, we must try our very hardest to approach our education with the same reasons. It is not so much what college we go to, or even that we are at college at all. These are the “which job?” questions that Plantinga says are not to be our main focus. It is easy to be motivated by the grades, the degrees, the “right major”, or the “dream job”. But, as Christians, we are called to higher motivations than these. In his lecture “Learning in War-Time”, C.S. Lewis answers the deep questions that many of us have asked of ourselves. Why are we spending time learning when there is a world in desperate need of Jesus out there? Lewis puts it this way, “all our merely natural activities will be accepted, if they are offered to God, even the humblest: and all of them, even the noblest, will be sinful if they are not” (Lewis “Learning”). Our learning is to be motivated by humble obedience to God- appreciation for what He has created and what we can learn from it, and desire to be the best person that we can: the person that God is shaping us into. Lewis says in “Our English Syllabus”, “The student is, or ought to be, a young man [or woman] who is already beginning to follow learning for its own sake” (Lewis, “Syllabus” 85). In “Learning in War-Time”, however, he takes is advice one step further. “I mean the pursuit of knowledge and beauty, in a sense, for their own sake, but in a sense which does not exclude their being for God’s sake” (Lewis “Learning”). God has blessed us with the wonderful institution of Calvin College, and a world of learning at our finger tips. We will only truly make the most of this gift if we are motivated by our love of learning and the One who created us with the ability to learn.

Plantinga says that “Our sense of God runs in us like a stream” (7). We know, deep down, that we are created beings, with the unique desire and ability to offer our efforts to God. We can do nothing on our own, but through Christ we can humbly offer our actions to God. Our obedience, our relationships, our interactions with others, even our approach to education can and should be motivated by our love and gratitude to God. Our logo here at Calvin states “My heart I offer you Lord- promptly and sincerely.” It is important to remember that throughout our lives, we should be searching for ways to set our motives right- to remind ourselves that in all things, our actions should come from a heart that is offered to God.

Works Cited

Lewis, C.S. The Four Loves: Eros. ©Helen Joy Lewis. 1960.

Lewis, C S. "The Inner Ring." University of London. 1944. Lecture.

Lewis, C.S. “Learning in War-Time.” Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford. 1939. Lecture.

Lewis, C.S. “Our English Syllabus.” Oxford University Press. 1939. Print.

Lewis, C.S. “The Poison of Subjectivism”. From Christian Reflections. 1967.

Lewis, C.S. “The Weight of Glory.” Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford. 1942. Lecture.

Plantinga, Cornelius Jr. Engaging God's Word. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Co. ,

2002. Print