As a boy I liked to play with cars, as most kids do from time to time. You could put yourself in the car and drive up the tallest mountains (the couch) or across the desert (the coffee table). You could be in a sports car or in a battle tank. You could be out with your spouse and kids going on vacation, or at the racetrack competing for the First Place trophy. And it all happened right in your living room.
One of the important tasks of being a parent is to figure out whether your child is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Do they respond better to pressure from inside themselves or from pressure from the outside? Do you help them discover what they really want to do or do you give them goals of your choosing?
Intrinsically motivated people don’t need the stars on their papers at school or the winning ribbon in the race. They don’t need the pat on the back to keep them going. They have a drive that resides inside themselves that drives them forward. Once they have a project, they just do it. Their drive to accomplish rises up from within them.
Extrinsically motivated people thrive on those external rewards and directions. They want the “kickoff” event and the pep rallies. They like quarterly goals and weekly reports. These things keep them moving forward. They need the pressure that someone else places on them to keep them moving.
As a parent it is important to know what drives your kids so you know how to help them achieve goals and move forward.
As Jesus followers we have reasons to move forward. John gives us both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons for obedience. We are now His children (intrinsic), and He is returning and fully revealing the truth (extrinsic). And John draws on both of these as he points out the hope we have in Him.
John tells us that everyone who knows they are His child and who will someday be changed and be like Him, everyone who has this hope must do something. It makes no difference whether we are responding to this new identity we have as His child (intrinsic) or whether the celebration at His coming (extrinsic) drives us to purity. We all need to take responsibility for our conduct in this world. What we do needs to reflect His character and He is pure.
This is where some people make excuses. They define purity in a way that allows them to continue to do what they know they shouldn’t be doing. You can usually tell by the urgency and anger that drives the defense of the action. They talk about being “born this way” or narrow cultural constraints. They talk about other people at other times or in other places having different practices. Or they speak the excuse of all excuses, “I’m not hurting anyone.”
We need to be pure, just as He is pure. No excuses. When we sin, repent and start walking again toward purity.
The Arnold Journey 