I was just praying yesterday about wanting to love Jesus more. On Our Daily Bread today there was the story about a husband who cleaned the dishes because he wanted to show his wife how much he loved her. That is amazing. I struggle with feeling motivated by guilt as for my reason to do a lot of things. I am praying now that my motivation will be propelled by my love for Jesus and not because I feel guilted into doing the right thing which is also disguised as people pleasing for me.
The bible study I am doing: The Search for Significance Workbook says,
"Guild causes a loss of self-respect. It withers the human spirit and eats away at our personal significance. Guilt is a strong motivation, playing on our fears of failure and rejection; therefore, it can never ultimately build, encourage, or inspire us in our desire to live for Christ. Our guilt may be prompted by many factors: poor parental modeling of Christ's love and forgiveness, divorce, neglect, a particular past sin, or the emphasis some believers place on the "oughts" and "shoulds" of Christianity. Perhaps some people think that if they don't use guilt for motivation, we won't do anything. Guilt may motivate us for a short while. The long-term results of grace best motivate us because they come from the inside out".
Thankfully, as Christians, we are released from the law and condemnation: "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1
This is powerful people. Love you
