Welcome to Motivational Mondays!
First things first, what is Motivational Mondays?
Just like it sounds, to motivate, to empower, and to encourage you on the first day of a fresh week. I don't know about you but Mondays can be a drag for me, so sometimes words of encouragement and positivity are helpful to start my day off right.
Motivational Monday's topic is:
What Drives Your Life
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8
In doing a little bit of self-reflection this question came to my mind, What really drives my life? I think almost instinctively I said God 110 percent but when I really started to think about it I realized that it may not be. When people start talking about what drives their lives, there are so many different answers that people can give.
Driving Forces
Money
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Matthew 6:24
Money, as many would say, is a necessary evil. Everything in this world costs, everything has a price and if you do not have any providing for yourself can be a difficult task. In this life here on earth, we need money to buy essential things like food, a car, a place to live, clothes, and so on. Sure having money can grant you financial freedom, things of luxury, the finer things in life, a distraction from the real problems at hand, but it cannot buy you things that really matter.
Money can be so all-consuming that it leads people to become greedy, envious of others, controlling, entitled, and taken advantage of. People can be so wrapped up in chasing the dollar that they neglect everything else causing close relationships to suffer, and cause you not to trust anyone.
But money cannot buy you God’s favor, his grace, it cannot buy you a ticket into the Kingdom of Heaven. When you die you cannot take it with you because it will serve no purpose for the next phase in life.
Fame
For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
John 12:43
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
Matthew 6:1-7
For some people the idea of becoming famous and gaining recognition for whatever they do drives their lives especially those who use their platform for their own personal gain. These are people who do kind acts but have to record themselves doing it to gain applause or an audience. The bible tells us not to seek fame. It tells us to treat others kindly and to help our brothers and sisters in need. When we help someone and then we go and tell others that we did, we are boasting about our deeds. God tells us to help others without looking for anything in return, to help others out of the kindness in our hearts. When we do things we are supposed to do things in secret because God watches and sees all and he knows our intentions. So instead if you have a large platform use it to glorify God, to share his greatness with the world, to tell everyone of all the things that he has done.
Materialistic Things
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.
1 John 2:15-16
The aspect of having or accumulating a lot of materialistic things can drive the lives of some. For some people, they have to have the next big phone, the biggest flat-screen television, the newest car, the next biggest piece of jewelry, and so on. Are they nice to have? Sure, but we cannot take anything from this world when we die. Heaven holds all that we need and all that we will ever need. The bible tells us that the things of this world will pass away and the only thing that will remain in the Word of God.
God
I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
Isaiah 42:8
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
Jonah 2:8
In some cases we let other people drive our lives instead of God. We raise statues of others in their likeness and we follow them. The bible tells us that we should not praise idols. Our God is a jealous God, he wants us to only worship and praise him. He is the only one who knows what our lives will become, he is the only one who knows what the future holds for us. We cannot put our stock, trust, or faith into man because man can become weary, man may not always be there for us right when we need them to be. Only God can do that.
God should be what drives our lives because of who he is and what he does. Remember God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is always present, knows all, and is all-powerful. When we have issues or needs we should turn to God for help. We as a human race should be allowing God to enter into our lives to shape us and mold us into what he called for us to be. We should want to do his will because of the love and the sacrifices that he has made to protect us.
What Drives Your Life?
**I hope everyone has a safe and blessed week and I will see you all on Saturday for our Weekly Topic Saturdays**
~Just Breathe...A Golden Dream~
Amen.