Fear or Something More

I overheard a conversation between management a few weeks ago that went something like this: 

“Who is doing boxes?”

“Joe Shmo is on box crew.  He's right over there.”

After the big boss glances over, he comments right back, “It doesn't look like he's working very hard.”

With a smile, the low-level supervisor replies, “Do we have any employees that work hard?  We just let the seasonal employees go!” he said almost laughing.

Now to anyone that works with me this is not terribly surprising.  The implication is that when one becomes a regular worker (and not a new or seasonal employee) there is little reason to work at the highest level.  It's like a teacher becoming tenured.  Fear makes a person work hard.  Less fear, less motivation.  No fear, no motivation.

Now I want us to step back from the employment context and think about how this principle is actually deeply saturated in almost every context of our culture –actually, more accurately, our global context.  Lets take geo-politics.  Why should Iran or North Korea listen to the UN's demands?  Answer: sanctions.  Fear of economic paralysis.  Why did America pull back from Vietnam?  Mounting casualties began to outweigh political utility.  Fear, this fear, turned the tide of public sentiment and the political powers that be.

Fear is also the machine behind most ethical impulses.  Why not sleep around on your spouse?  Well, it might destroy your marriage, your family, your career, your reputation, etc.  Fear of massive relational disintegration.  Why do I go to the dentist?  Or the gym?  Why do I obey my father or my 1st grade teacher, or obey law enforcement?  Why do I strive for good grades in school?  Why do I pay my bills on time or save money for a rainy day?  Fear.  Its the perennial motivator.

Actually an interesting side note on the ethics aspect.  I have witnessed many minor accidents and fender-benders over the years in my parking lot.  So what motivates a person to take responsibility for his actions?  Well, sadly, I have never once seen someone accidentally damage a parked car and take responsibility for it simply because it was the right thing to do.  But I have witnessed at least a dozen accidents where a parked car was damaged, and the person responsible was ready to scoot away quickly until they were told they need to leave a note.  I had one person shrug off my suggestion, until I told him we have a picture of his license plate and it will probably be worse if it becomes a hit-and-run.  Fear.  It's the great (and sometimes only) motivator.

Is this how it should be?  Parenting gives us one of the best examples of how fear is properly interwoven into motivation.  As a parent you want your young child to share, not because they are afraid of your displeasure, but ultimately because they will actually enjoy sharing and will want others to share with them.  So what do parents typically do?  Do they say: “Okay little Johnny, only share when you actually enjoy it”...?  (...since that's what I ultimately want for you).  No, at least the good parents don't.  Parents tell them they must share.  And as they begin to share, simply because they must (fear), then typically they will start to see its value down the road.  Fear brings boundaries to our lives.  Ideally, however, we were meant to live and enjoy life without needing the boundaries –without fear.  We're supposed to do the right thing, because its the right thing.  We're supposed to be faithful to our spouses, because we love them.  We're supposed to go to the dentist or the gym because there is something intrinsically valuable about health. 

But, of course, we don't live in an ideal world.  Fear is a necessity –because of our depravity.  We need boundaries because we are so prone to go beyond them.  But the big question I want to ask is: what happens when you live within the boundaries simply because you love it and enjoy it?  What happens when you work your tail off at work, when you have no other reason to?  What happens when your honesty on your taxes has nothing to do with getting audited?  What happens when you love purity because its beautiful, not because God might be watching?  Well, what happens is people start asking questions.  A world engulfed in an ocean of fear, gets confused when others march to another beat.  You become an anomaly that needs to be explained. 

So now the question is, what beat do you march to?