A Theory of Motivation: A Seventh -Day Adventist Perspective

A Theory of Motivation:

A Seventh-Day Adventist Perspective

(See Footnote Number 1)

By Gary L. Clendenon

Originally written for Wynn Knowling’s “Motivation” psychology class

@ Walla Walla College, 1982.

Edited and Updated for a more general audience, 2024, 2026.

This version dedicated to Wynn Knowling: 1931-2026. (R.I.P.)

Psychologists have written many hypotheses, theories, and books upon books about the subject of motivation. They know that the results of motivation can be observed through behavior, they have studied and theorized how they think it works, but when it comes right down to the bottom line, they don’t quite really know what it is that causes motivation. So, they are left with their incomplete theories—surprisingly stumped. To quote them—from my 1982 “Motivation” psychology class textbook: “In a sense, it is disappointing that one grand motivational scheme that encompasses all behavior has not been found and probably never will be.” (Psychological Theories of Motivation, p. 5, Emphasis Mine (EM).)

Because these psychological experts don’t seem to have the complete answer, in this essay we will leave the surprisingly stumped psychologists and turn to God’s Word and other Inspired Writings to see what answers can be found there (Please see “Footnote 1” for my explanation of “other Inspired Writings”).  And, of course, as Christians, our Inspired Writings should be the basis for what we believe, in the first place. Even if psychologists did think they had the answers, we should still compare their findings and ideas with what the Bible and other Inspired Writings have to say, and then, base our beliefs accordingly.

We Christians hold the Bible to be the most reliable, authoritative resource because we believe that it is God’s Word and so we can turn there to see what God has to say about any topic. Regarding the topic of motivation, the Bible has the following very powerful, pointed statement that confirms itself as the perfect source on this topic: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  (Hebrews 4:12 RSV) In other words, since “motives” is a synonym for “intentions”, the Bible gets through to the motives of the heart and mind (down to the bottom line), so as a Christian, the Bible—and other Bible-affirming writings—will be my foundational baseline for truth on this topic.

Around 1895, eminent psychologist Sigmund Freud noticed in his study of human behavior that there existed “an unconscious, dynamic conflict between opposing forces in the mind. Freud could observe the action of the counterforce…but the nature of the motivating force was unclear and had to be inferred.” (Psychological Theories of Motivation, EM) Out of the many psychologists throughout history, Freud was one who admitted that he noticed this basic human conflict and that he wasn’t sure what it was. (It seems that he did later go on to explain it as the “Id vs. Superego Conflict”—which does fit, superficially, but still doesn’t go into the deeper motives I fully cover in this essay.)

Interestingly, religious author, Ellen G. White, writing years before Freud, addressed this conflict stating: “You have battles to fight with internal foes.” (2) In all my years, the simplest way I, personally, have found to describe the nature of this observed conflict is through the inspired words of a song I’ve come to love: “Deep within you there’s a spiritual battle; there’s a voice of the darkness and a voice of the light. And just by listening, you’ve made a decision, ‘cause the voice you hear is gonna win the fight” (from “Are You Living in an Old Man’s Rubble” by Amy Grant). (3)

I believe the “battle” is spiritual in nature, and no matter what it is called: “intrapsychic conflict”, “drive/defense conflict”, “cathexis/counter-cathexis”, “optimal experience/psychic entropy” (4), “pleasure/guilt conflict”, “right/wrong”, “good/evil”, “love/fear” (5), or “righteousness/sin”—it is still the age-old spiritual battle between God and Satan that has been in progress for over, at least, 6,000 years—THE BATTLE FOR OUR MINDS! (6) The bottom line to this “Theory of Motivation” is that motivations and motives, more often than not, originate from either one or the other of these two, seemingly multi-named, opposing forces.

We are encouraged to study further into this matter by the following Ellen White quote: “The student...should gain a knowledge...of the great controversy. He should understand the nature of the two principles that are contending for supremacy, and...he should see how this controversy enters into every phase of human experience; how in every act he himself reveals the one or the other of the two antagonistic motives; and how, whether he realizes it or not, he is even now deciding upon which side of the controversy he will be found.” (7, EM)

Let’s do that.

The Bible tells us that this “controversy” started in Heaven. In Revelation 12:7-9 (GNT), we read:

“Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, who fought back with his angels; but the dragon was defeated, and he and his angels were not allowed to stay in heaven any longer. The huge dragon was thrown out—that ancient serpent, named the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and all his angels with him.”

What was the reason for this war? Why did it happen? It all came from a conflict in thinking. So, let’s look at the characteristics and qualities of these two competing sides and their ways of thinking:

Satan, then named “Lucifer”, has his thoughts best described in Isaiah 14:12-14 (NIV):

“How you have fallen from heaven…. You have been cast down to the earth…! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High’.” (EM)

Lucifer thought he, and his way, equal to, if not better than God’s, and therefore, he—a being created by God!—wanted to make himself equal to God. Hmmm. It was this line of thinking, which when shown by GOD to be incompatible with Heaven and Heaven’s principles (the created cannot become equal to the Creator) Lucifer stubbornly refused to acknowledge: There can only be one GOD. It was this final refusal that led Lucifer and his followers to be invited to leave Heaven. His Heavenly name was changed to Satan, which literally means “adversary” and is derived from a verb meaning “to obstruct or oppose”. (Wikipedia)

The next time we see Satan (on the Biblical Timeline) is in Genesis 3:4-5 where he is talking to Eve: “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” (NLT) Once again, we can see Satan’s way of thinking coming through: “...be like God”. The same exact thought that led to Satan’s downfall is the temptation he uses for the downfall of all humanity!

Satan seems to be saying: “Do it this way, God is wrong; God is holding something back from you; He doesn’t want you to be free—free to make your decisions and to do things your way; God doesn’t want you to be free like Him, but the truth is, if you eat the fruit, you will be like God.” But, what he really meant was “Join me in my rebellion against GOD.”

So, we can see that Satan’s way of thinking is, in psychological terms, “egocentric”, or SELF-centered—putting himself before and above all others—just plain selfish. Ellen G. White sums up this way of thinking well in these words: “In most...religious controversies, the foundation of the trouble is that self is striving for supremacy.” (8)

The Enemy’s way of thinking includes an interesting tactic psychologists call “Projection”, in which whatever one is thinking or doing is projected onto one’s enemy. Therefore, in this temptation of Eve, Satan is projecting his own selfishness onto God by suggesting that God is selfishly holding back something from Adam and Eve.

Now that we have seen Satan’s way, let’s take a look at the characteristics of the other side, as presented by God’s representative here on Earth, Jesus Christ. Jesus was quoted as saying the following:

“If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest.” (Mark 10:43 TEV) And: “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. If anyone hits you on one cheek, let him hit the other one too; if someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well. Give to everyone who asks you for something, and when someone takes what is yours, do not ask for it back. Do for others just what you want them to do for you.” (Luke 6:27-31 TEV, EM)

Jesus, representing the Godhead, literally practiced what he preached. Notice just after he said what I quoted above about being a servant, Jesus then goes on to say in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.” He said, “I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10 TEV) He came, to serve others first.

As we know from what the Bible teaches, that ability to “have life fully” came at a very steep price for the Godhead. Almost everyone knows the most famous text in the Bible: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son so that everyone who believes in Him will not be lost, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) GOD’s motive was pure love. Jesus stated in John 15:13 “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  (NLT) And, in John 10:18, Jesus affirms His gift of love to humanity when He says, “No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly!” (CEV)

So, from these quotes—and many others like them all through the Bible—we see that God’s way of thinking is the exact opposite to that of Satan’s. The Godhead is saying through Jesus their representative, “The GOD-ly way is to put others first, serving them and meeting their needs, even to the point of loving someone who hates you and even going so far as giving your life for someone else!”

It’s probably best summed up by Jesus’ words: “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 7:12, NLT, EM) Beginning in the 17^th century, Jesus’ words here began to be called “The Golden Rule”—gold representing the highest and most valuable behavior possible. It would come as no surprise, then, that the Enemy of GOD would probably have a self-focused version of “The Golden Rule” appropriately expressed like this: “Whoever has the gold, makes the rules!” (9)

One of the best illustrations I have ever seen of these two contrasting viewpoints is the following parable: A bountiful banquet feast is set out for all to enjoy in Heaven and in Hell. In Hell, the guests of the banquet are surprisingly emaciated almost down to the bone, while right in front of them is all the food their hearts could ever desire. What is going on? As we look at the scene, we see that the only way they can eat is by using the utensils provided for them—long spoons. The spoons are too long to be bent to their mouths and so they cannot feed themselves! In Heaven, as you’ve probably figured out by now, everyone is happy and well-fed. They have the same long spoons there, but they use them to feed each other. (10)

Okay, we have seen that there is a great battle going on for our minds, we have looked at both sides point of view, now let’s look at the question, “Who is in control?”  Let’s go back to Adam and Eve for a minute. Ellen G. White says, “It was through the desire for self-exaltation that sin entered the world, and our first parents lost the dominion over this fair earth, their kingdom.” (11) So, Adam and Eve had control and lost it. So, who got it? In the perfectly titled book, The Great Controversy (Between Christ and Satan), it says, “When man transgressed the divine law, his nature became evil, and he was in harmony, and not at variance, with Satan. There exists naturally no enmity* between sinful man and the originator of sin.”  (12) *Synonyms for “no enmity” are “no friction”, “no hostility”, “no animosity”, or “no antagonism”!

So, by default, our human nature is naturally in harmony with Satan! “Wait. What?” I know, right? Jesus stated this in a surprisingly pointed way in John 8:44 (TEV) when He said, “You are the children of your father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father’s desires.” “Well,” our minds think, “He must not have been talking to His followers!” Please notice that this conversation starts (in John 8:31) with these words: “Jesus said to those who believed in him.” Believers in Jesus cannot ignore these words! We must take seriously the words now often used ironically: “The struggle is real.”

The Apostle Paul, probably the most “righteous” follower of Jesus we know about (13), talked about this struggle in his own life in his letter to the Romans (7:14-23,25 TEV):

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am a mortal man, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do; for I don’t do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate. Since what I do is what I don’t want to do, this shows that I agree that the law is right. So I am not really the one who does this thing; rather it is the sin that lives in me. I know that good does not live in me—that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it. I don’t do the good I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do not want to do. If I do what I don’t want to do, this means that I am no longer the one who does it; instead, it is the sin that lives in me. So I find that this law is at work: when I want to do what is good, what is evil is the only choice I have. My inner being delights in the law of God. But I see a different law at work in my body—a law that fights against the law my mind approves of. It makes me a prisoner to the law of sin which is at work in my body. This, then, is my condition: on my own I can serve God’s law only with my mind, while my human nature serves the law of sin.

Here we see a real back-and-forth struggle that we have all faced. But, even though it’s back-and-forth, like a tennis game, it’s clear that it’s always one way or the other—an either/or situation. Before Paul wrote those words, Jesus put it this way: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24) Ellen White put it like this: “The mind is controlled either by Satan or Jesus; and when you practice no self-control, Satan rules, and leads you to say and do things that are wholly satanic.” (14)

Another statement to that effect:

“We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not cooperate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place.” (15)

And we can see the results of that in this statement:

“Every soul that refuses to give himself to God, is under the control of another power. He is not his own. He may talk of freedom, but he is in the most abject slavery. He is not allowed to see the beauty of truth, for his mind is under the control of Satan. While he flatters himself that he is following the dictates of his own judgment, he obeys the will of the prince of darkness.” (16)

WOW!! Those are some eye-opening statements! That means if we don’t make any moves toward Jesus, then we are automatically on Satan’s side! There is no neutral ground, as so many think. Just as in the tennis game I mentioned earlier, it is impossible for the ball to sit balanced on the net. It falls on one side of the net or the other, and so do we.

So, if we are motivated by Evil to start with because of our human nature, and we want to be motivated by God, but it seems we just can’t, how is it that we can change that? Answer:

“Our condition through sin is unnatural, and the power that restores it must be supernatural, else it has no value. There is but one power that can break the hold of evil from the hearts of men, and that is the power of God in Jesus Christ. Only through the blood of the Crucified One is there cleansing from sin. His grace alone can enable us to resist and subdue the tendencies of our fallen nature.” (17)

If you’ve ever wondered why Jesus had to die, this is the reason!

“The question comes closer still: How may the controversy in my own heart, the strife between inflowing selfishness and outgoing love, be settled in the victory of good, and settled forever.” (18) We find the answer to that question in John 14 verse 6 where Jesus says, “I AM THE WAY...no one comes to the Father except through me” (NIV, EM). Okay, great, but how exactly do we go through Him? Well, He answers that in Luke 9:23: “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must DENY HIMSELF and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” (NIV, EM)

Hey, did you catch that? “Deny himself” That makes sense. If the characteristic of Satan’s way is selfishness, then we need to get rid of that selfishness! That would be a real change of heart! In fact, it would take a heart transplant! Desire of Ages, p. 437 says:

“It was not enough for the disciples of Jesus to be instructed as to the nature of his Kingdom. What they needed was a change of heart, that would bring them into harmony with its principles. … Jesus said, ‘except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.’ The simplicity, the self forgetfulness, and the confiding love of a little child are the attributes that Heaven values”  (19).

How do we get this change of heart conversion? Ellen G. White has a lot to say in answer to this question. Here is a sampling of some of her quality quotes:

“Here is a principle that lies at the foundation of every act, thought, and motive; the consecration of the entire being, both physical and mental, to the control of the spirit of God.” (20) Note: To “consecrate” means “to give for sacred purpose”. The Apostle Paul speaks of this act in Romans 12:1 when he advises: “...take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him” (The MESSAGE Bible).

“...we have no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.” (21)

“Real conversion is a decided change of feelings and motives; ...a withdrawing from the controlling power of their [worldly] thoughts, opinions, and influences.” (22)

“When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which [a human] can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ, becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies, is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But, [once again] unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one.” (23)

“To have a new heart is to have a new mind, new purposes, and new motives. What is the sign of a new heart?—a changed life, [where] there is a daily, hourly, dying to selfishness and pride.” (24)

This new heart is a gift that was promised in Ezekiel 11:19: “I will give them a new heart and a new mind. I will take away their stubborn heart of stone and will give them an obedient heart.”

So now, if we have surrendered our lives to God, then the Holy Spirit has given us heart transplants and we are the proud owners of new hearts. When we do this, according to Christian writer, Ellen G. White, “Goodness and love for our fellow-men, becomes our natural instinct.” (25)

Before, our natural instinct motivated us to sin, but now after heart surgery, our natural instinct motivates us to love and goodness. Instinct is not weak. Instinct is a powerful, almost-undeniable drive or motivation. Notice how this power is strongly referred to in 2 Corinthians 5:14: “For the love of Christ compels us...” “Compels” has that same sense of an almost unstoppable urge that “instinct” does. There is great strength in “the love of Christ”!

Dr. Tim Jennings, Psychiatrist, describes this powerful change like this: “...when one trusts God, a change takes place: the prefrontal cortex is imbued with love and truth from the Holy Spirit, restoring God’s balance, leading back to other-centered, peaceful living.” (26)

Isn’t that great! I have a new heart! I want to show everybody! Does this mean all my battles are won—I’ll have no more problems with conflicts?  Well, if you remember our “Almost-Perfect-Christian” Paul’s open struggle quoted earlier in this essay from Romans 7, the answer is, an unfortunate “No”.

Ellen White elaborates on this “No” in the following quotes:

“The conflict will be close between self and the grace of God. Self will strive for the mastery, and will be opposed to the work of bringing the life and thoughts, the will and affections, into subjection to the will of Christ.” (27)

Read these next quotes remembering the earlier quote on “enmity” (12):

“It is the grace that implants in the soul which creates enmity against Satan. Without this converting grace, and renewing power, man would continue to be the captive of Satan, ...but the new principle in the soul creates conflict where hitherto had been peace.” (28)

“Those who become followers of Christ (will) find that new motives for action are supplied, new thoughts arise, and new actions result, but (that) they can make advancements only through conflict; for there is an enemy who ever contends against them…. There is no end to the warfare this side of eternity. But while there are constant battles to fight, there are also precious victories to gain; and the triumph over self and sin is of more value than the mind can estimate.” (29)

Many people think that when they give their lives to Jesus, they shouldn’t have any more problems! As we can see, it is quite the opposite! I believe it works something like this: The closer we get to Jesus, the more challenges we face, because Satan sees that he is losing us, and so he throws everything he has at us. Now, on the other hand, the closer we get to Satan, the less he bothers us, because he knows he’s got us, and thus leaves us alone!

Here are a couple of interesting quotes that agree with and articulate this line of thinking: From actor Denzel Washington: “There’s a saying, ‘When the devil ignores you, then you know you’re doing something wrong’.” (30) Pastor Adrian Rogers described it this way: “If the devil doesn’t bother you, it’s because he doesn’t have to bother you since you and he are traveling in the same direction. If you turned around, you’d have a collision with him. Right now, you are in collusion with him.” (31)

So, yes, as followers of Jesus, we will still have conflicts, but once we have chosen to be motivated by God, and have received a new heart, we have crossed over from Satan’s side of the battle to God’s side, and Satan’s gonna have a fight on his hands to get us back. But, because of the free will given to humanity, the choice is still ours. As Joshua said to the Israelites: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:1).  Or to paraphrase, “Choose today whom you will be motivated by—God or Satan.” Or in blunt slang: “Pick a team!”

This “choice” isn’t a one-time thing, either. I love how C.S. Lewis so eloquently states it: “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” (32) Ellen White, in one of her best quotes, wrote “make this your very first work.” (33) Then, throughout your day, take God with you and always be aware of the presence of the ongoing, mostly unseen battle between good and evil, as we are told by Scripture to “Be alert” and “on watch” and to “guard our hearts and minds”. (34)

The Good News is that as we continue to continually choose Team GOD, we will be motivated by the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised would “lead you” (“guide you”/“direct you”) and “teach you” and “remind you” and “counsel you” as our constant Companion all the way to Kingdom Come! (See John 16:13-15/Psalms 32:8, John 14:26, John 14:16, and Footnote 35.)

In conclusion, we have seen that there is a battle going on between two opposed motivating forces—God and Satan—for the control of the world, and individually, for our minds. We have looked at the characteristics and ways of thinking of both of these forces so that we could see how they work, and recognize them in our lives and the world around us.

We have found out that humans, because of our natural-born sinful nature, are more in harmony with Satan, and thus, by default, he has more control in our lives, which we saw explains the reason why we have so much trouble trying to be good, because it’s not natural for us.

We then learned that by allowing God to do open heart surgery on us, that we could receive a new heart with the characteristics of that—love and goodness—becoming a new natural instinct; but just as conflict arises when we are naturally motivated by Satan but want to do good, so conflict arises when we are naturally motivated by God, because Satan doesn’t want  us to do good; but through these conflicts we can grow stronger through the victories, and wiser through the losses. So says this “Theory of Motivation”.

POSTSCRIPT (P.S.):

As I was finishing up this 2024 re-editing of my 1982 paper, I came across a recent report of an interesting study done by psychologists who were looking for the “driving force behind all our darkest impulses” (“Driving Force” being an obvious synonym for the term “Motivation”). They found underneath “all [of] our worst inclinations on the surface, a central, common core of human darkness lies.” They named this “newly identified” driving force “D” which is short for: “Dark Factor of Personality”. They say, “...with our mapping of the common denominator of the various dark personality traits, one can simply ascertain that the person has a high D factor. This is because the D factor indicates how likely a person is to engage in behavior associated with one or more of these dark traits.”  (36)

Now, given what you’ve read in my essay so far, you won’t be at all surprised to imagine that I have a bit of a small, slowly-growing grin on my face. I started out in this paper in 1982 by stating “Psychologists...don’t quite really know what it is that causes motivation.” And then I went on to spell out what the Bible clearly teaches regarding what psychologists—all these years later—are now calling the “Dark Factor”.

I find it hugely ironic, that these psychologists have chosen to call this “D” for short. For thousands of years, Darkness has been appropriately associated with evil and devilry, and humanity’s sinful nature. Psychologists have desperately spent most of their years trying to steer this conversation in any other direction than the Bible’s viewpoint that the dark motivating factor has a name.

So, it must have been a bit awkward for these psychologists to outright admit that there is a something tangibly dark inside of humanity! Although I do applaud them for admitting this obvious truth, even though—just like 1982, they really don’t know the cause of it. (It might have made it slightly less awkward for them by going the “Star Wars” route and by calling it the “Dark Factor”—a seemingly obvious allusion to “The Dark Side” of the Force.)

Well, I’m going to just go ahead and finish what they started, as that was the whole point of this essay. Their study confirms everything we have covered in this essay. Their “Dark Factor” is clearly our naturally-motivated sinful human nature and the Devil’s temptations upon our minds to do his will. It is not a stretch for me—more like an obvious next step—to strongly state that their “D” would more appropriately stand for “Devil” or “Devilry”.

One last thing. I have written quite a bit about the Devil and it is important to make one last point regarding this being and his angels. The fact that there is a Devil who tempts us must not be used by us to avoid taking responsibility for our own decisions and actions. In the 1970s there was a comedian named Flip Wilson whose catchphrase was “The Devil made me do it!”  (37) In essence, he was just repeating what Adam and Eve said when they sinned (trying to avoid their own personal guilt by blaming someone else). Whether or not the Devil “made us do it”, we are responsible for our decisions. We can say with the Psalmist, “I said, ‘I have sinned against you, Lord; be merciful to me and heal me’.” (Psalms 41:4)

In the excellent article I found online on this topic, it says the following wise words: “The Bible teaches that the devil tempts people, but he does not have the power to force anyone to sin against the Lord.” (37) The Devil’s power is real, but compared to GOD’s power, it’s all smoke and mirrors attempting to scare us into thinking his way is the best choice. That’s wrong. It’s not!

GOD created humans with free will and to this day, GOD honors that free will. And the best news of all is that when we do sin—by our own choice or not, GOD’s accepts Jesus’ blood sacrifice to wash away our sins and give us a new, fresh start. Choose that. Choose to accept Jesus’ invitation: “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” (Revelation 3:20, NLT)

Footnotes:

1. I am a Seventh-day Adventist. I—and many other SDAs—believe that the writings of Ellen G. White were inspired by the Holy Spirit of GOD. As such, I quote her words as “Inspired Writings” liberally in this essay. Please be open-minded and test these words against the Bible’s Principles, as one ought to do with any non-Biblical writings. Although I am an SDA, my “Perspective” is my own and may or may not represent the beliefs of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. I don’t believe that “Inspiration” is exclusive to Ellen G. White, and as such, in this essay, I quote other writers I also believe to be inspired. The key to judging that inspiration is agreement with the Bible—the Word of GOD.

2. Testimonies for the Church, Volume II, p. 162.

3. For more on this personal story of mine, see my blog post: https://notesfromthegc.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-voice-how-amy-grant-saved-my.html

4. I’ve added this theory to this paper after reading Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s FLOW: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, (c) 1990. Many of the other theories were from my textbook.

5. Dr. Timothy R. Jennings, Seventh-day Adventist Psychiatrist, in his excellent 2014 book The God-shaped Brain uses these terms to focus on this key dichotomy describing this mental conflict. Jennings’ take is that broken love and trust lead to fear and selfishness—commonly known in the world today as “survival of the fittest,” or the drive [motivation] to survive: “Me first.” He says that this is the polar opposite of giving love, and that it is this dark, controlling motivation that infects us and leads to the destroying of our lives and planet (p. 35-6, paraphrased).

6. This is a partial allusion to the then popular religious book Battle for the Mind by, later world-famous author, Dr. Tim LaHaye, (c) 1980. In the 40 years since, many books have carried on this theme with similar titles.

7. Education, p. 90. This “great controversy” that White cites is a very strong theme in all of her 50,000 pages of writings. So much so, that she actually titled the last book in the Conflict of the Ages 5-book series: “The Great Controversy”! (Note additional synonym: “Conflict”)

8. Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 71.

9. This very insightful version of “The Golden Rule” was put forth by Christian cartoonist, Johnny Hart, in his comic strip co-written with Brant Parker: “The Wizard of Id”: https://economicsociology.org/2015/08/28/remember-the-golden-rule-whoever-has-the-gold-makes-the-rules/

10 Found in many cultures, this parable is most attributed to Rabbi Haim of Romshishok.

11 Sons & Daughters of God, p. 303. Note: Jennings’ words on the permanent DNA-like effect on our lives: “Because God gave Adam and Eve the ability to create beings in their image, every human descended from them is born with this terminal condition: our brains do not naturally function the way God designed.” The God-shaped Brain, p. 37.

12 Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 505, emphasis mine. Jennings puts it this way: “Acts of sin are the inevitable consequences to the law of love being replaced with fear and selfishness in the heart. Our biological drive [motivation] to put self first is so strong that without God’s intervention, human beings are incapable of anything but fear-based, survival-driven selfishness.” The God-shaped Brain, p. 38.

13 He says so himself! See Philippians 3:4-6.

14 Testimonies for the Church, Volume 4, p. 495.

15 Ellen G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 324.

16 Ibid, p. 466.

17 Ellen G. White, Ministry of Healing, p. 428. Dr. Timothy R. Jennings puts “the answer” this way: “...a brain in which the fear circuits rule is cut off from God, our very source of life. Only love, coming from God, is capable of freeing us from fear.” p. 40-42.

18 Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. iii (Preface).

19 Ellen G. White, emphasis mine.

20 Testimonies for the Church, Volume 3, p. 84.

21 Desire of Ages, p. 466.

22 Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 82, emphasis mine.

23 Desire of Ages, p. 323-4, emphasis mine.

24 Messages to Young People, p. 72, emphasis mine.

25 Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 355, emphasis mine.

26 Jennings, The God-shaped Brain, p. 37.

27 Testimonies for the Church, Volume 2, p. 687-88.

28 The Great Controversy, p. 506, emphasis mine.

29 Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 20, emphasis mine.

30 Denzel Washington: (https://www.tmz.com/2022/04/02/denzel-washington-explains-his-devil-quote-after-will-smith-slap/)

31 Adrian Rogers: (https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/love-worth-finding/read/devotionals/love-worth-finding/if-the-devil-doesnt-bother-you-youre-in-trouble-love-worth-finding-july-16-11811875.html)

32 CS Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer.

33 Here’s the full quote: “Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, ‘Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.’ This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ.” Steps to Christ, p. 70.

34: 1 Peter 5:8, Good News Translation; Proverbs 4:23-27, GNT, Contemporary English Version, The MESSAGE.

35 Allusion to the song “All the Way to Kingdom Come” by Rich Mullins (https://youtu.be/384NY1H-pMA?si=nMKY8DeQO9ztmq0h)

36 https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-found-the-driving-force-behind-your-darkest-impulses

37 https://www.christianity.com/wiki/sin/why-do-some-people-say-the-devil-made-me-do-it.html (This whole section was inspired by this article.)