What Is Your Motivation?

We have recently added another milestone to the Bassett household--potty training! Yes, it's hard to believe but we are potty training the baby of the family. One thing I learned from my other two children: you must have some sort of motivation for going to the potty. For adults, we are motivated just by the simple thought of waiting too late and having an accident in public! And for us, that possible embarrassment is enough to go immediately when you feel the need. But for my children, they all needed a child-sized motivation. With Gracie, I used candy. With Will, I used toy cars and tractors as a reward. With Lilly Faith, her motivation for going to the potty is the ever-satisfying...... M&Ms! La-La knows when she is successful, she will get 4 "M's". She is one happy camper with her chocolate treat.

Paul told the Christians in Corinthians they needed to check their motives daily. By testing, they would be able to tell whether or not they were true believers or false believers. What determined this? How they handled the tests and trials that would come their way. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?" The Message translation puts it this way, "Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don't drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it."

Paul is saying this "test" is an internal test. Each of us must inspect our own heart to see what motivates our personal behavior and no one else can evaluate the results. Do you act the way you do to get ahead in the business world, to be a people pleaser or to get what you want from other people?

Those who discover they are motivated by Christ living inside of them are true believers. Those who find they are motivated by their own selfish desires are false believers.

What is your "firsthand evidence" that Jesus Christ lives in you?