Thinking Out Loud, Volume CDL

My dad had a way of making me regret my actions when I had done wrong, but one thing I never, ever doubted.....he loved me as much as he loved himself. He just wanted to make sure I understood that there are consequences for evil deeds. As a result, I was basically a good kid, and at least in my opinion, I turned out to be a quality gentleman as an adult. I will admit that as a small child, the primary reason I was a good little boy is because I wanted to avoid the price that had to be paid when I was bad. Dad's ultimate goal, however, was for that line of thinking to change over time, and his plan worked. Let me explain. As a toddler, I didn't have the mental capacity to to reason things out like an adult, which meant that my real purpose for being good was to avoid the penalty for being bad. My parents knew, though, that eventually I would become an adult and would no longer be subject to their discipline, and if I was still acting strictly in fear of their punitive actions up until that time, all their efforts would have been in vain. They had to somehow instill in me a desire to do right simply because I had a love for righteousness. Otherwise, once they were out of the picture, I would revert back toward evil. There will always be a price to pay for stepping outside the bounds of what's right and lawful, because there will always be those who can only be motivated by fear of penalty. Imagine a world where there were no speeding tickets, because everyone had a desire to drive safely. In that world, due to a lack of crime, there would be no need for prisons, because everyone would be obeying one of the greatest commandments, and loving their neighbors as they love themselves. A sign of maturity is when the fear of punishment is no longer our primary motivating factor. If the main reason I'm serving God is to escape Hell, there's a problem in my relationship with Him, and I'm lacking spiritual maturity. If my only reason for not stealing from my neighbor is to keep from going to jail, it's an indication that I've never developed a love for right living. There's another commandment that tells us if we honor our father and mother, our days will be long on the earth. I can think of no better way to honor them than to live with a love for righteousness the way they taught me. Some of us can be motivated by love while others can only be motivated by fear. I choose love. Preston