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Motivation. It's a big deal,

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isn't it?

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Why are you doing what you're

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doing? It matters.

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We care a lot about motivations.

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Are you doing something simply

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because you have to,

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because you want to?

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And we like to make a big deal

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out of that. Motivation matters,

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and it does.

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Motivation matters a lot because

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it tells you what kind

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of person are you?

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What kind of character

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do you have?

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When you have character

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this fully developed,

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your motivations are done

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out of care for people,

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out of just a genuine concern

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for what you're called to do,

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out of a desire to

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help and serve and your

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motivations become very

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much second nature.

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You don't think much about it,

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they just kind of happen,

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which is good and that's

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how it should be.

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And yet you've got to be

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conscious in thinking about it.

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This kind of work of being a

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person of characters doesn't

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just happen by itself.

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You got to be intentional

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and deliberate.

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But motivations get really

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important to us because we worry

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about what is my motivation?

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Was I motivated simply

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because I had to?

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Was motivated because I thought

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someone was watching?

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I've got to have the right heart

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or that doesn't count.

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And in a sense that's true

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because if we do anything for

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less than simple love for God

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or simple love for others,

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then it's really sin.

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Scripture is kind of

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that clear cut.

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If we're doing things for

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self serving purposes,

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that's all about ego.

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And when we're promoting

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ourselves, that's sinful.

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And so it is sort of important.

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And yet I think there's another

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sense where we can say maybe

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motivation isn't quite as big

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a deal as we think it is.

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The reason I say this

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is because within

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Lutheranism especially

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motivation has sort of become

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the only thing we worry about.

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We were concerned that people

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are motivated by the gospel and

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anything less than a gospel

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motivation we are quite sure is

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wrong and is beneath Christian

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behavior and is probably sinful

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and I probably agree with that.

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So it's got to be motivated

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by the love of Christ.

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It's got to be motivated by

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simple what God has done for me.

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And if it's not then it's not

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worth doing and we should

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feel bad about it.

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And then this can lead very

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easily to a great deal of

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sort of introspective,

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sort of self reflective what

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were my motivations?

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Why did I do that?

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I think this is a problem.

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I think that we as human beings

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are infinitely complicated.

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Luther said we are Simul lustus 

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et Peccator.

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We are at the same time

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saint and sinner.

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And this is not a back and

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forth sort of experience.

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Sometimes I'm saint,

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sometimes I'm sinner. No,

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it's a down to the very bottom.

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Everything I do is always

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Simul lustus et Peccator.

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In my very best moments I'm

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sinner. My very worst moments

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I'm saint.

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That's the reality of

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Simul lustus et Peccator

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and that reflects also on

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our self understanding.

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We're complicated people.

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Sincerity is a really hard thing

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to come by for human beings.

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When are we truly sincere with

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no ulterior motives?

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I don't know and I don't have to

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worry about that, frankly.

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I don't think it matters

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that much. See,

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the fact that we are conflicted

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and Simul lustus et Peccator

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means that our motivations are

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typically going to be

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mixed all the time.

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And the more you stop and think

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about your motivations,

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the more you reflect on it,

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the more you begin to question

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what your motivations are.

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And the more you begin

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to realize,

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my motivations aren't pure,

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they're all messed up.

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So maybe the reality is we don't

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need to worry nearly as much

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about motivations as

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we think we do.

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Maybe we should be thinking more

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about what has God called me to

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do? And I need to do that.

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And regardless why I'm doing it,

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I'm doing it

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and that's a good thing.

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And this is especially true when

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we're actually trying to

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habituate and form

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people into the faith or form

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people into a Christian kind of

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behavior or into a fully

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human behavior.

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So when we're working

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on forming people,

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the motivation why they might do

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something maybe isn't nearly as

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important as the fact that

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they're doing it and they're

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learning and they're being

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habituated into that.

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And the reality is that the more

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they're habituated into

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that kind of behavior,

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the more their character

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gets imprinted.

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And then the day will come

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when their motivations will jump,

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maybe to a new level or shift

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from being purely got to do it

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because I don't want to be

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punished to this is what

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I'm called to do,

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or this is pleasing to God,

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or this is helping others,

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or I'm actually enjoying doing

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what God's put me here to do.

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So the motivations can be

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all kinds of things,

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and instead of getting

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so hung up on,

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always parsing out what

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the motivations are.

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I would argue the right

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thing to do is say,

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what has God called me to do?

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What is God asking me to do?

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I simply need to do it

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and why I'm doing it.

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I'll ask God to forgive me my

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bad motives and delight in the

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fact that he does give me grace.

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I can keep on moving forward and

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doing what he's called me to

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do as a fully human person,

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regardless my motivations.