Which Motivates You More... Love V Fear

[brandelynmarie]

I do love how Fr. Larry Richards' explanation of how some pholks attend weekly Mass as a sort of "fire insurance" :devil: ...that would be a motivation out of fear of hell....


I do agree with many above as I see true fear of the Lord as coming from awe & respect & not wanting to hurt my relationship with the One Who is Love...

& because I'm truly human & in constant need of forgiveness & mercy, Confession helps :blush:

Edited February 22, 2014 by brandelynmarie

[reyb]

which motivates you more... love v fear

 

Linate you did not answer my question....

 

….motivate to … what? 

[MarysLittleFlower]

I think we should love God and fear offending Him :) but this fear of offending Him should come from love... ideally, the focus is on love, not on fear.

[southern california guy]

Linate you did not answer my question....

q

I agree that is a very good question.

[RC Patriot]

I wish I could say love motivates me more than fear. Sometimes it does. Apathy is my cross. When it comes to being motivated to go to Confession after I've screwed up out of apathy, it's honestly fear of dying without being reconciled to God that motivates me to go.

Again, I wish it were love, but recently, it's just not the case. Sad... I know.

[PhuturePriest]

When on his deathbed, Pope Paul VI was very afraid. He begged his accountant to stay with him and pray, saying "Pray for me, that I don't abandon Christ at the end like Peter did." He was very afraid that he would abandon God at the last moments of his life, and so they said the Rosary. He wasn't afraid of God, rather, he was afraid of giving into his own weakness and abandoning God. He is now on the slow process of canonization.

 

I don't think fear is necessarily a bad thing, so long as it is a fear of your own weakness.

[CrossCuT]

I know perfect contrition is based in love of God where imperfect is based in fear of God.

 

Ill be honest and say that I more often fear God than love him. It is a fault I try to fix.

[reyb]

When on his deathbed, Pope Paul VI was very afraid. He begged his accountant to stay with him and pray, saying "Pray for me, that I don't abandon Christ at the end like Peter did." He was very afraid that he would abandon God at the last moments of his life, and so they said the Rosary. He wasn't afraid of God, rather, he was afraid of giving into his own weakness and abandoning God. He is now on the slow process of canonization.

 

I don't think fear is necessarily a bad thing, so long as it is a fear of your own weakness.

 

The way I read it. He is too afraid because he knows he is ‘not sure’.  

[AugustineA]

Difficult question.

 

Love predominantly. I remember praying once I'll die for eternity just let me worship the Lord. Obviously I was ignorant of theology back then, but nevertheless. Love the Lord. He holds you in existence every moment..  :flex2:

 

Sometimes I'm overcome with fear though. I once heard someone describe the end of time as reality just melting away. Have you ever thought of how open and empty reality is without physics, without the world around us? Imagine standing in the emptiness of eternity. I imagine it would be like being dropped in the deepest darkest part of the ocean. 

 

Okay.. I have alot of weird thoughts about God haha.. But on the topic of fear. Think about how complex a computer is. Now consider how infinitely more complex we are in comparison. Now consider how ridiculously complex life and space is from gravity to ecosystems to atoms and subatomic forces. Now consider how infinitely more complex God is. We're so stupid and small.  :paperbag:

 

 

 

 

[Annie12]

Difficult question.

 

Love predominantly. I remember praying once I'll die for eternity just let me worship the Lord. Obviously I was ignorant of theology back then, but nevertheless. Love the Lord. He holds you in existence every moment..  :flex2:

 

Sometimes I'm overcome with fear though. I once heard someone describe the end of time as reality just melting away. Have you ever thought of how open and empty reality is without physics, without the world around us? Imagine standing in the emptiness of eternity. I imagine it would be like being dropped in the deepest darkest part of the ocean. 

 

Okay.. I have alot of weird thoughts about God haha.. But on the topic of fear. Think about how complex a computer is. Now consider how infinitely more complex we are in comparison. Now consider how ridiculously complex life and space is from gravity to ecosystems to atoms and subatomic forces. Now consider how infinitely more complex God is. We're so stupid and small.  :paperbag:

 

Woah... I never thought about it like that. But, like you I do deal with fear at times. Its really about keeping your eyes on Christ. The moment I take my eyes off of Christ I become fearful just like a little child who losses sight of their mom or dad in a crowd of people.

 

I think God, as the most loving father there is, does all he can to get us to heaven. We just have to move our feet and trust that he wills our good. Even the apparent bad stuff in life is always preparing us for heaven. We just have to believe it with our souls and not only intellectually. For me, its usually the journey from the head to the heart that is hardest. I blame a lot of my fear on this.

 

As far as death goes, it scares me but not as much as when I was a kid. I remember being really scared of death when I was a child shortly after a loved one passed away. I have come to realize however, that if I am doing my best to love God I need only to trust in his mercy. I still have much to learn though.

[AugustineA]

Woah... I never thought about it like that. But, like you I do deal with fear at times. Its really about keeping your eyes on Christ. The moment I take my eyes off of Christ I become fearful just like a little child who losses sight of their mom or dad in a crowd of people.

 

I think God, as the most loving father there is, does all he can to get us to heaven. We just have to move our feet and trust that he wills our good. Even the apparent bad stuff in life is always preparing us for heaven. We just have to believe it with our souls and not only intellectually. For me, its usually the journey from the head to the heart that is hardest. I blame a lot of my fear on this.

 

As far as death goes, it scares me but not as much as when I was a kid. I remember being really scared of death when I was a child shortly after a loved one passed away. I have come to realize however, that if I am doing my best to love God I need only to trust in his mercy. I still have much to learn though.

 

It's when my eyes are on Christ that I feel the fear I'm talking about though. Or maybe not my eyes on Christ per se, but when I'm focusing on God, or just did something really stupid. Christ is hope and salvation, so you're totally right; that doesn't inspire fear. I do believe it's common for many believers to experience fear in thinking about God. In scripture St. Paul says work out your salvation with fear and suffering.  :eek:

 

I know what you mean about the disturbance from head the heart. Were you raised Catholic? I can see it being a problem for alot of converts who converted through studying. 

[Annie12]

It's when my eyes are on Christ that I feel the fear I'm talking about though. Or maybe not my eyes on Christ per se, but when I'm focusing on God, or just did something really stupid. Christ is hope and salvation, so you're totally right; that doesn't inspire fear. I do believe it's common for many believers to experience fear in thinking about God. In scripture St. Paul says work out your salvation with fear and suffering.  :eek:

 

I know what you mean about the disturbance from head the heart. Were you raised Catholic? I can see it being a problem for alot of converts who converted through studying. 

 

Okay, I see what you mean now. I never feel fear when I am keeping my eyes on Christ.It has always been when I get preoccupied with my own worries when I get fearful. But, Christ is really the only reason why I can deal with my anxiety problems so well. He really is the only thing that brings me comfort.

 

I was raised catholic but its complicated because until I was sophomore in High School I really only went to church because my parents made me. I dealt with a lot of actual Fear of God (as in being scared of him) because of my sins. It was awful until God shook me awake and the rest is history. I don't really like to talk about it. I don't even think my family even knows about it. I don't talk about it mainly because I don't like to think of one day I was a sinner and then I am a saint. I recognize that I am still a sinner just not in the way that I was back then. I actually love God now and try to do my best.

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

I wish I could say love motivates me more than fear. Sometimes it does. Apathy is my cross. When it comes to being motivated to go to Confession after I've screwed up out of apathy, it's honestly fear of dying without being reconciled to God that motivates me to go.

Again, I wish it were love, but recently, it's just not the case. Sad... I know.

 

 

It is good to have sorrow for ones sins, to be sorry. :) As long as you are sorry RC Patriot for your sins, no worries, God forgives you. :)