Have you ever wondered what produced the incredible achievement of personalities such as David, Samuel, Daniel and Paul? What is that hidden key that opened options to them that brought long lasting results time after time?
It is a secret that can be seen at the very center of their lives. A study of these men will show that they each had a central core which motivated their every action and direction. Every situation was woven, every event was initiated or interpreted, and every one in their circle was received in accordance with this central core. And this is a truism.
Every man operates from a central core of motivation. The stronger the motivation, the stronger their actions to obtain that which motivates them. The greater the nobility of their motivation, the nobler the expression of their lives. The baser the motivation, the more perverse the outcome of their work and words. And when a person lacks motivation altogether, they produce nothing at all.
So back to the earlier mentioned great achievers in the Bible. For David, what shone out at the core of all his words and works was his love of God and faith in God’s ability. If God desired things a particular way, or saw things a particular way, then that is the way that David saw it and would do it. He fought Goliath because Goliath had dared insult God. David seemed to care less about how large Goliath looked. God was larger than that giant. Despite the awful danger that Saul presented to him, David spared Saul instead of killing him when he had every opportunity to, because God would have hated anyone to touch an anointed king of God. He saved and saved to build God a temple. His motivation was simple. If God loves things a particular way, then it is important to do things in that way.
Samuel’s motivation was his acceptance of and submission to God’s word. As strange as it sounded that a whole family would be wiped out for insulting God’s house, Samuel had no quarrel with it if that was what God said. As hurtful as it was to lay down his position as head of Israel and anoint another to take the glory of being king, Samuel submitted to that change without fuss, if God wanted it. And as dangerous as it was to anoint another king when there was a serving king on the throne, Samuel accepted the danger if God directed it.
Daniel’s commitment to God’s honor beyond honoring anyone else was his deepest motivation. And that included risking the rancor of those set over him in not eating special foods dedicated to idols, defying glorious emperors in order to pray; agreeing to go into a den of lions as punishment for refusing to bow down to an image, and refusing the rewards of emperors who defiled the articles of God’s house.
Paul’s driving passion was to implement the commission God had given him, because he believed in the uniqueness, truth and urgency of that commission. It drove him to incredible length of actions. If it took voyages around the world to present the commission by planting churches, going into dangerous territories filled with demonic entities and human power brokers, and spending nights to write down the tenets of the faith for churches, Paul would do it. No price was too high to pay in order to tell the story.
What about you? What is that central core that motivates your work and how you spend your time and resources? How you choose your friends and those you give your time to? Is money the great motivator at the center of your choices? Is it fame, ambition, pleasure, or the love of people? Or nothing is important enough to merit your time beyond the 9am to 5pm spent around the ‘job’ to ‘just get enough to live on’? Nothing has enough value to demand that extra effort from you?
Please search your heart and get clear on this. Because this central pillar around which everything winds and on which everything hangs is what will determine how far you go in life. It is the integrating point of all your beliefs, actions, and words. If you seem to lack integrity and focus, it may be because that central core is missing or weak. May you be motivated by the best of all reasons – the love of God, love for people, and love to obtain the most excellent for yourself and those around you!