Quoting Neil Anthony
There’s one point that I find interesting from a philosophical perspective, and would like to ask about a bit more. Please don’t take this as if I missed the main point and am just nitpicking a minor point… the whole message was very helpful, but sometimes little theological puzzles get ahold of my mind and I can’t help question:
Hi Neil…no problems at all:thumbsup:
So if I’m in a state where I don’t feel love for God, but I perform actions that are consistent with love of God, how could I know that my actions are not actually
- motivated out of fear of hell rather than love of God
or
- motivated by pride of wanting to be good to glorify myself rather than God
Motivation can be very difficult to get at at times and sometimes our motives we can get at we realize are far less than perfect and best to humbly accept this with Peace and ask The Lord to purify motive. Sometimes we can find our motives are entirely ultruistic, sometimes the complete opposite, sometimes even a mixture of both.
Since God alone is the author of all good, be it great or most minute, and He alone sustains good in existence, if I am about some good in some way, then I can be assured that God is working through and in me. To feel love of God is a gift of God and a consolation…it is not God Himself and our goal is Unity with God, not His gifts. Since God is beyond human feelings or intellect, in a sense the less I feel love for God and the less I understand Him…the closer I am to the reality of matters.
Do our actions really prove our love for God? If we can’t look inside ourselves and separate feelings of love from feelings of fear or pride, then how can our actions prove that we love God?
What I meant was that we really find that we really do love others and care about them with motivation focused caringly more on them than in any way on ourselves, even our love for God and doing things with the motive of loving God. There is no need to be consciously doing things for love of God…the general intention does suffice even if we are not always thinking of it. Remember that The Lord knows our hearts. Perfecting of motives is a lifelong task and journey, and perfected only in Heaven.
Another aspect is that if I find myself in disdain of others and not caring for them, then it is time to question my love for God. The opposite of such disdain and care tells me that I love God and that The Holy Spirit is at work in me. When I love God my own love is being united to His and this is a growth process and journey perfected in Heaven…hence if my love is being united to His then I will start to love others with something of His love for us all. St. Julian of Norwich said that God dances for the very joy of us.
In actuality our imperfections are wondrous aids to humility which is probably foundational to all virtue. To humbly accept that one is a sinner with motives that are far from perfect and with a desire that The Lord would purify them, with efforts to purify them ourselves. Peace of heart, mind and soul is a great criteria of the spiritual life, and if our Peace is most disturbed it is time to speak to a priest or seek out spiritual direction which is a great treasure in the spiritual life.
Now and then we probably all feel our Peace disturbed for some reason and this is not a time for panic, rather to quietly work in whichever way seems appropriate to regain our Peace. Peace of heart, mind and soul is a fruit of The Holy Spirit in our soul.
Remember too that “Fear of The Lord is the beginning of Wisdom” and fear of Hell can be the beginnings or seed of this type of
filial fear, which is the knowledge that The Lord does have Majestic Power and is the Judge of Souls.
St Francis of Assisi said that pride will only die ten minutes after we do and this is a great comfort in a way telling us that we will struggle with pride on some level all our lives. I no sooner do some good for the best of motives, than I find myself being proud of it, spiritually proud and then I have that to combat…and so the struggle goes on probably daily. The Lord grants success to whom He wills for His own reasons, never out of one’s deserving of such - never. And if He does not grant success, this is His mysterious Permissive Will and again for His own reasons and not necessarily reflecting on the poor efforts of the person concerned.
And this is more than hypothetical, I do have some fear of hell, and do feel some pride when I do good actions. I think my biggest motivation is love of God, but is there a way to double-check that this is still the case?
I can certainly feel the same at times…try to be at Peace in it all, The Lord knows your heart and how you really want to do the very best for Him as you may struggle with less than perfect motives. Talk to Him about this asking His help, you could even mention it in Confession, not as sinful, but as imperfection you may struggle with…
Confession is a great source of strengthening Grace or Actual Grace as well as Sanctifying Grace.
I hope that may be of some help, if not please do let me know and I will have another try - or perhaps someone else can be of more help…Blessings - Barb
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