The Magic of Motivation

Trying to be motivated by the will of God

09/21/2022

Mt 9:9-13 As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

One of the great mysteries of life is motivation. We spend a great deal of our time, energy, and money trying to motivate others, and even motivate ourselves. For instance, why do girls try to look pretty? They are trying to motivate boys to look at them, to like them, and maybe even to love them. Why do boys try to have big muscles and buy big trucks? They are trying to motivate girls to like and love them. Why do we use bait – a worm or a cricket – when we go fishing? We are trying to motivate the fish to bite our hook, so later we can bite into them. In other words, the great mystery and the real magic of life is motivation. Motivation makes the world go round.

Now there are basically two types of motivation, and they are called the carrot and the stick. Can you guess what that means? The carrot kind of motivation is something delightful or delicious. For example, we give you a free dress day if you sell football fundraiser tickets. Or, you can be principal for a day if your parents buy that item at the silent auction at the Trinity Gala. Or, you get a big trophy if you win the volleyball or football championship at the end of the season.

Where I attended high school, the principal put our class rankings on his office door, so we could see our academic rank compared to our classmates. Can you guess what happened? That really motivated me to study harder and get ahead of others. I graduated from high school number 9 in a class of 177 boys at Catholic High. Not bad. In other words, all those things – free dress day, principal for a day, a trophy, class rankings – are all carrots to motivate you to do something.

The other means of motivation is the stick, which is basically a punishment. So, if you get into a fight in school, you will be suspended. If you use your phone when you should not have it, you will suffer another punishment. If you miss too many homework assignments, you will get a bad grade on your report card. If you drive too fast, you will get a speeding ticket. If a husband forgets his wedding anniversary, his wife gives him the silent treatment. You see, those are all sticks, or punishments, for bad behavior. But really they are a different kind of motivation to help people change and be better.

But there is a better motivation than the carrot and the stick, and that is love. And I am not talking about the love between a man and a woman. Rather, I am talking about loving something so much, you don’t need a carrot or a stick to motivate you. Love does. Recently, we started a soccer program here at Trinity, and the boys who want to play ask every day: “When are we going to practice? Can we practice today? Can we practice every day?” In other words, they are super motivated, and they don’t need a carrot or stick, but their motivation comes from their heart. Love for the game motivates them. When you do something you love, you will never work a day in your life. Love is a very high kind of motivation.

But did you know there is an even higher and better means of motivation? And that is when you do something because God wants you to. In other words, the highest and holiest motivation is the will of God. That’s why we pray in the Our Father, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” When a young man is thinking about being a priest, the worst question you can ask him is: “Do you want to be a priest?” Instead, you should ask him, “Do you think God wants you to be a priest?” Can you catch the difference? The difference is motivation: am I doing this for myself or am I doing this for God? The motivation of God’s will is better than a carrot or a stick, or even love, because it lasts forever.

Today is the feast of St. Matthew, one of the twelve apostles and one of the four gospel writers. Listen to this line from the gospel and see if you can tell what motivated him to follow Jesus. We read: “As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the custom’s post. He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.” Did Jesus offer Matthew a delicious carrot? No. Did Jesus threaten him with a stick of punishment? No. Did Jesus offer him love? No, Matthew loved money.

Why did Matthew get up and follow Jesus? Matthew heard God’s voice and discovered God’s will, and felt the deepest motivation anyone can feel in life. Matthew felt the magic of the greatest motivation: doing God’s will. And that kind of motivation is what makes us really happy.

Praised be Jesus Christ!