Who Are You Trying to Impress?

The YOU CAN CHANGE project begged the question this week, ‘Who are You trying to impress?’ I was challenged by the fact that I’m often most motivated to change in order to make a good impression.

Oh, and don’t forget–any comments left on any post before this coming Saturday are eligible for a giveaway of the Jesus Count with Me Coloring book.

3 Insufficient Sources of Motivation

The author speaks about 3 ways that we are naturally motivated to change, but then highlights how each of these sources of motivation really aren’t adequate to push us toward lasting change.

1We want to impress others.
2We want to impress ourselves.
3We want to impress God.

Take a moment to think about the thing you’re hoping to see change in yourself and ask yourself, ‘WHY do I want to change this sinful habitat or let go of this negative emotion?’

What SHOULD Motivate You?

The author points out one main reason to desire change, and I’ve added another.

• To more fully enjoy and love GOD.  The fact is that our sin gets in the way of our relationship with Christ.  You’ve felt this as much as I have—these bad habits and emotions don’t just make us miserable on our own, they keep us from praying and singing and enjoying Christ throughout our days.  We should want to change our sinful ways because we want to experience all the blessings of love and joy promised to us in our relationship with Christ.
• To more fully enjoy and love PEOPLE.  Just as Scripture connects our love for God with our love for our neighbor, it’s obvious that sin not only affects our relationship with God, but also with all those around us.  We should want to change our sinful ways because we see how we’re not just making ourselves miserable, but we’re missing the opportunities to love the beautiful people around us (and to receive their love in return).

Lord, Please Motivate Me

We find ourselves in a funny contradiction. We’re busy wanting to change because we want to impress others. Meanwhile, God wants us to be motivated to change because HE HAS IMPRESSED US.

If you’ve been stuck in a sin rut for a while and the only things you can find to motivate you are desires to impress others, yourself, or God…then chances are, you’re not impressed enough by God and all that He has to offer you.

As I’ve been working through the issue of motivation, I took some time to list out (as the author did) some of the roles God plays in my life.  Father, Groom, Brother, Friend–all these came to mind.  I listed the benefits and blessings associated with each of these relationships and have been thinking on them for the last few weeks.
In order to find a lasting source of motivation for change, we’ve got to look at Christ and see all the promises that are found in Him…and we’ve got to pray for a desire to know Him, love Him and enjoy Him more. And out of that motivation….we will most certainly find ourselves not only willing to change, but able.

U Turn

What relationship with God (Father, Spouse, Brother, Friend) most motivates you to change?

This week we’ve covered the second chapter in YOU CAN CHANGE by Tim Chester.  If you’d like to read more about the Summer Reading here on Tuesdays, go here.  And if you’d like to follow along with the week’s Bible reading and some FREE additional insights, head here.

Related posts:

1. Introducing….Summer Reading Well, summer is nearly here.  And summer isn’t summer without...
2. Hourly Wage…Redeemed In these days of tight finances, I’m looking for ways...
3. Link O-the not totally Jazzed Version Hey Friends I have to be honest and say I...
4. No Need to Visit the Compost Pile In these days where everyone’s seeing green (and I don’t...
5. LinkO-the Summer Schedule As we start the summer, I wanted to fill you...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.