Ulterior Motives

I speak and write frequently about being free of motive, or, in more vulgar terms, agenda, plan, vision, and goal. This is one of the most difficult concepts for us to understand, especially when we are in the people and religion business. So I want to share with you a quote:

The evangelicals I’ve felt the most fond of, the most comfortable around, and the most commonality with– regardless of political, social, or philosophical differences– were the ones who never tried to sell me on Jesus yet always seemed to be trying to live the life Jesus desired of them. The paradox of lifestyle evangelism is that while it might sound like a Christian’s loving, friendly actions are all driven by an ulterior motive, in only really clicks when they’re able to let go of that motive. The people who made the best case for Christianity were the ones who were genuinely unconcerned whether I ever decided to become a Christian or not.

This was written by Daniel Radosh, a self-proclaimed Jewish agnostic, in his entertaining and enlightening book, Rapture Ready: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture. Some might inquire: “But Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples!” I think we need to understand what this means on a deeper level. Only those who either don’t care or who have a foundational grasp of and a thorough trust in the sovereignty of God, the universality of his love, grace and forgiveness, and the reconciliation of all things, can drop ulterior motives in living with and loving others.