Week 17 - Jeff Chaves - What is Your Motivation?

What is your motivation? It’s the question I want you to sit with today. Whether you are working at Fire Trucks Unlimited here in Nevada or scattered across the country as a Rural Metro mechanic, we all have something that drives our decisions. But the real question is: what should be that driving force?

I recently attended some chaplain training where we dove into 2 Corinthians chapter 5. It’s a powerful chapter that really defines the gospel and how it applies to our daily lives. In verses 14 and 15, the Apostle Paul shares his own "why." He says, "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died; and he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Notice that Paul doesn’t say Christ compels him, but rather Christ's love compels him. That is a huge distinction. He isn't being pushed or driven by a person; he is motivated by the profound recognition of how much God loves him.

So, how does this change our perspective?

• A New Lens: When we are compelled by the love shown through the cross, we stop viewing people from a worldly point of view. Whether it’s a neighbor you don't get along with or a difficult co-worker, you begin to see them through the lens of the cross—realizing Christ died for them, too.

• A New Identity: Think of it like marriage. When my wife and I got married on June 2nd, we gained a new identity as a couple. However, we still had to learn how to live as a married couple. Similarly, in Christ, we are a new creation, but we must learn to live out of that new identity defined by His love.

Is your motivation today found in money, status, or the approval of others? Or is it the cross? When the love of Jesus is the thing that compels you, it changes how you view everything.

If you’d like to talk more or need prayer, please reach out to me at jeff.chavis@chaplain.org. It goes straight to my phone, and I'd love to hear from you.