Can we have pure motivations for morality?

Caleb   03/22

Is there any way to get around, say, fear as a motivation for morality? Is there any way, as a relatively non-religious young man named Caleb put it, to “beat the system” when it comes to believing in God and still maintaining pure motivations for doing good?

A very common argument against religious belief is the complaint that once one believes in God, then they can never take credit for the good they do because the promise of reward or the threat of punishment spoils their pure motivation for doing good deeds. Better to “do good for goodness sake” as the atheist slogan goes.

Despite little background in religion himself, Caleb was quick to point out that an all-knowing God would be aware of every motivation for his actions, and those that are self-serving would disqualify his good deeds as just selfish actions that count for nothing.

However, there are several reasons why the Christian Gospel uniquely allows us to, in effect, “beat the system” when it comes to believing in God while maintaining pure motivations for our good deeds. First, the Bible says that “While we were yet sinners” Christ died for us. Salvation isn’t something we earn by doing good deeds; we do good deeds because we have already been saved.

Second, unlike other religions that view selfish pleasures in the afterlife as the reward, the reward for the Christian in heaven is none other than God Himself and seeing Him glorified. Jesus did say he will “repay each person according to what he has done”, and Peter wrote that “you will receive the unfading crown of glory”, but the purpose of these rewards is demonstrated by the 24 elders in Rev. 4: “They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Their focus is not on their own pleasure, but on God’s glory.

Third, why the concern about having “pure motives for doing good” in the first place? Why do even unbelievers insist that the good we do must count for something? Is it not because, deep down, everyone knows there will indeed be One who will one day do the counting?

The Bible tells us that all people, whether they believe in God or not, have a God-given moral conscience. This doesn’t mean we faithfully follow it, but what it does mean is that we recognize there is indeed a standard of right and wrong and that one day we will be held accountable for our actions in keeping or breaking that standard. As a result, a lot of time and energy is spent justifying our existence, even for those who are unwilling to acknowledge God as the final authority to whom we are accountable.

Finally, I believe biblical Christianity to be a very practical faith. In the final analysis, what does the good we do count for if our motivations for doing it aren’t exactly pure? Actually, it counts for a lot, especially to those who are the recipients of that good. A starving man receiving bread doesn’t really care if your motivations are pure when you give it to him, he’s just happy to get something to eat!

Christianity is also a practical faith because it is able to acknowledge that the purity of our motivations is actually just an idealistic fantasy. Instead it takes the reality of our sinful nature and our rebellion against our Maker, and gives us a practical way back into a right relationship not only with God but with one another.

Caleb and I talked a little about “Pascal’s Wager”, which is the idea that the infinite rewards of believing in and following God are worth the risk of the finite loss of some pleasures and freedoms we might experience if God does not, in fact, exist. This idea is heavily criticized because no one wants to base their life and motivations on fear. But although a right relationship with God must begin with “the fear of the Lord”, it doesn’t have to end there, for “perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18) Because salvation is not a reward to be earned but a gift to be received, our good deeds can be motivated by love rather than fear.

Thanks, Caleb, for allowing me to record our conversation! It can be seen at https://youtu.be/2oc3jU1hzmc on my YouTube Channel.