Bribed?

Sometimes we need to know what is in it for us.

Now the LORD said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' - Genesis 12:1-3

Would Abram have done God's will without knowing the promise of being the father of a great nation?

In other words, was the promise a way to get Abram to do God's will or was it something else entirely?

I believe we get the impression that God had to bribe Abram with greatness, but that was not what was really happening here.

The story may be written that way for the listener and not for Abram's benefit.

You will understand why Abram followed God if you see that he was promised great things.  In the end, though, you will see that there is more to it.

Now if we were hoping for reassurances by God before making a commitment to be faithful servants and believers, we may be disappointed.  What if the promise isn't as clear for us as it was for Abram?  Will we be eager to do God's will?

How we tell the story makes a difference.

If I tell you that serving others is highly rewarding, you may believe me, but you may not be motivated to give your time to feeding the hungry or visiting the sick.

But if I made the reward something concrete, appealing to your needs and wants, perhaps you would choose to go and help.

But are you doing it out of love or self-interest?

I think it is hard to separate the two.  We are driven by our own desires and until we make serving others something we desire to do, we will look for rewards to motivate us.

So, the story teller states the reward first.

And as a result, we look for it before we choose to do anything.

Too bad.  Think of how much better the world would be if we were just motivated by love.

More to come...