God is Not a Motivational Speaker!

Posted on by Barack K'Owili

God is Not a Motivational Speaker!

I started my poultry farm with just a feather.

Motivation is power. Ceteris Paribus, no company can outperform that company whose employees are motivated to give their best.  Most successful people on all fronts are a product of empowerment. Providing someone with an incentive to do something will effectively catapult them to achieve the greatest results than in the absence of the same. All these notwithstanding, I  want to remind us that God is not a motivational Speaker. This is not a war against motivational speeches. There’s power in unraveling people’s worth and potential.  

A few days ago, I overheard some joke which influenced the writing of this piece. He said, “you will hear motivational speakers say, ‘I started my poultry farm with just a feather 😂” and there was an uncontrollable outburst of laughter 😂😂😂. How possible is it to start a poultry farm with just a feather?

Image source: iStock

Could it be that we have been motivated by statements that in normal life is an impossibility? Or a scholar who ascribes his academic excellence to this injunction, “I either slept or woke up at 3am“. When the businessman you admire started his venture with a feather and a scholar whose trajectory inspires you either woke up or slept at 3am, is there even a glimmer of hope left for you?

  Is this not making the coveted seat a reserve of the geniuses, whom we have too few! When motivation goes overboard, it has lost its power to motivate, and instead, it effectively demotivates. If that is motivation, then I Will succinctly say no to it. It has lost its power.

Secondly, Motivation aims at improving people. If you have been a failure all the time, .you will now be a failure some of the time. If you have been a failure sometimes, you will be a failure, not any other time. A farmer who was garnering twenty sacks will be able to double the same when empowered. A student who was getting a B will be able to get an A after being empowered. Therefore at the end of it all, it is an improvement from one scalar chain to another. It is like a promotion at work. 

What About God?

In dealing with us, God is not aiming at improving or motivating us. God is in the business of transformation. Here is what God does: 

Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Christ didn’t make the blind and dumb less blind and less dumb. He healed him in so much that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw. It is a complete transformation and not a mere improvement.

If you were a sinner before meeting Christ, you don’t become less sinful. A pulpit that encourages less sinning is not doing things God’s way, and its ministers are but motivational speakers. If you were taking a drum of rum, don’t feel comfortable with a tot while God can make you a teetotaler.  God is in the business of complete transformation that we become completely new individuals. A sinner in the hand of God becomes a saint. 

This doesn’t discourage or refute step-by-step growth into spiritual maturity. Instead, it is a reminder of God’s power and purpose in your life. A complete surrender to His will comes with a spontaneous change of life and allegiances. Saul, on his way to Damascus, is an example of God dealing with us when we finally decide we won’t kick against goads anymore.

Image source: iStock

Every improvement in your life is a demonstration of the divine hand at work. Nevertheless, God’s purpose for you is not just to improve but to completely transform you. If, at the end of your life, you only register improvements, you are eternally lost!

By His life and His death, Christ has achieved even more than recovery from the ruin wrought through sin. It was Satan’s purpose to bring about an eternal separation between God and man, but in Christ, we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen.  -The Desire of Ages 25.3

54 thoughts on “God is Not a Motivational Speaker!”

    2. Amen and Amen… powerful piece God is not a motivational speaker. God always restore the soul a whole. May God bless you for the wonderful messages of hope.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    3. Waaw! This is so true. I think I have always regarded God as “a motivational speaker” all my life. Didn’t know better. Now am enlightened.
      Thanks for sharing

      Like

      Reply

  3. Thanks for this it’s a wonderful sharing in deed God isn’t a motivational speaker but the perfector of our faith after He transforms us.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Wow! A Wonderful piece here ,its sure God doesnt encourage us to be less sinful with some exaggerated statements but he transforms us whole to take up his character Thanks for the powerful insight brother be blessed.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. I concur with you 100 percent :God doesn’t modify our character, HE transforms it.
    AMEN AND AMEN 🙏🙏🙏.

    Like

    Reply

  9. Powerful words,beautiful words,words of hope . God is God truly not a motivational speaker, and remember God walks with us patiently such that by the time we realise His presence in our lives,then the transformation is real. God bless you brother.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Right here is the right website for anyone who really wants to find out about this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally would want to…HaHa). You certainly put a fresh spin on a topic that has been written about for ages. Excellent stuff, just great!

    Like

    Reply

  13. I would like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in penning this site. I really hope to see the same high-grade blog posts by you later on as well. In truth, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own, personal blog now 😉

    Like

    Reply

  14. Was just once again going through this, guys, Let God be God in our lives,

    Let’s take his words the way they are.

    It’s sad to go to hell with heaven mind.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. Nice post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am
    inspired! Extremely helpful info particularly the final section 🙂 I maintain such info a lot.

    I used to be seeking this particular information for a very lengthy time.
    Thank you and good luck.

    Like

    Reply

  19. I am extremely inspired together with your writing abilities
    as smartly as with the structure to your weblog. Is that this a paid subject or did you modify it yourself?
    Either way stay up the excellent quality writing,
    it is uncommon to peer a nice blog like this one today..

    Like

    Reply

  20. A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment.
    There’s no doubt that that you ought to write more about this subject, it
    might not be a taboo subject but typically folks don’t discuss
    such subjects. To the next! Cheers!!

    Like

    Reply

  26. A non-vegeterian joke is told – I started out my butchery with a picture of a cow 😦
    Why settle for good when God bids us to take the best- I chose transformation over improvement today! Profound 💯

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to Jeniffer Nasike Cancel reply

Unknown's avatar

Published by Barack K'Owili

I strive to live up to my purpose in Life: "To Write and Speak what people need to hear (Not necessarily what they want to hear). My Mantra: "What is worth doing at all is worth doing well." ML 219.4