Two Motives: Fear or Freedom

Every thought we entertain, every decision we make, every path we choose  they’re all fueled by one of two deep-rooted motives: fear or freedom. When we begin to view our behavior through this lens, we start to uncover the hidden drivers that either confine us or set us free.

The Motive of Fear

Fear disguises itself well. It looks like overachievement, like compliance, like being the “good one.” It whispers that we must perform, please, and conform in order to be accepted. Fear tells us we have to earn love, prove our worth, and never rock the boat. It drives us to seek applause, validation, and approval, even if it means silencing our true voice.

For much of my life, fear was the driving force behind how I lived, and much of that fear was birthed in religion. I was taught to behave a certain way, speak a certain way, even believe a certain way, not out of love but out of fear- a modified life for fear of Jesus leaving me behind: fear of punishment, fear of rejection, fear of not being “good enough” for God. Ironically, the very system that introduced me to God also taught me to fear Him in a way that made me hide, strive, and constantly perform, leading me to years of mental illness.

But Scripture cautions us about this kind of fear:

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”  Proverbs 29:25

And that’s exactly what fear became for me, a snare of mental dis-ease. A trap that kept me in cycles of depression, panic attacks, suicidal, and spiritual anxiety. It wasn’t until I began to deeply understand the true nature of Christ, not just the religious version I’d been handed, that something in me began to shift.

The Motive of Freedom

Freedom began to look like grace. It looked like accepting that I was already loved, fully, freely, and without condition. It looked like peeling off the layers of performance and finally breathing in my identity: that I was fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), intentionally designed with my unique voice, personality, creativity, and perspective.

To live from freedom meant releasing the fear-based version of faith I’d been clinging to. It meant trusting that who God created me to be was not a mistake or a problem to fix, but a reflection of His beauty and intentionality.

Jesus modeled this kind of freedom. He didn’t cater to public opinion or strive for approval. He walked in truth and obedience to the Father, regardless of who followed Him.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”  Galatians 5:1

That yoke of slavery can look like religion without relationship. It can look like rules without love. But freedom real freedom, restores us to relationship, identity, and peace.

Fear performs. Freedom flows.

Fear imitates. Freedom creates.

Fear conforms. Freedom transforms.

Ask yourself: What is the motive behind your yes? Your no? Your silence? Your striving?

May we be a people who choose the motive of freedom even when it costs us comfort and attention because that is where our true power and peace are found.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” 

2 Timothy 1:7

And for me, that truth changed everything.