Our actions derive a great deal of their character and merit from the motive or intention with which they are performed. The lowest of supernatural motives in the service of God is the fear of hell. It is a servile motive, it looks to self, it does not savour of spiritual intelligence or of the generosity which God deserves from us; yet it is not a bad or even an unworthy motive. If indeed this fear were the same as natural fear in slavish minds, if it led to service under compulsion, to service which would not be exhibited except for the mere dread of punishment without any thought of God, then our fear would be absolutely servile and worthless. But hell, properly considered, is chiefly the loss of God; and the fear of hell involves a desire for the possession of God as the essential perfection of our nature and the sum of all good to us; it is a fear of the evils involved in the loss of God. This is not a bad motive, for it is put before us in Holy Scripture. The wise man tells us that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. i. 7); and Jesus Himself says: "Fear Him that can destroy both body and soul in hell" (Matt. x. 28). The thought of the terrors of eternal punishment is certainly one of great power in helping the well-disposed to withstand temptation. Any motive which has that effect has done much good; it may be an inferior one, yet our nature is not so lofty and generous that it can afford to dispense with even lowly motives as an assistance to a fervent life. Think often of the terrors of judgment; learn thence the odiousness of sin, and serve God better. Take care, however, that this be not your sole or chief motive. The lower one by no means excludes the higher. Continue Reading.
