Imagine a young man at a missions conference. The speaker paints a vivid picture of billions who have never heard the name of Jesus. The statistics are staggering, the need undeniable, and the young man feels something rise in his chest — a burning urgency to go. But is that urgency the voice of the Holy Spirit, or is it the sting of guilt? Is it a God-given love for the nations, or a quiet desire to be the next great hero of the faith? The question is not whether he should go. The question is: what is driving him?
Missions theologian Matt Bennett raises exactly this challenge in a recent piece for Crossway. Read the source article for his full treatment. His core argument is one every aspiring missionary — and every sending church — needs to sit with: while our motives will never be perfectly pure, the primary engine driving a person to the field matters enormously. Two corrupted engines he identifies are guilt and pride. Both can masquerade as godly zeal. Both will eventually stall.
The Biblical Diagnosis: A Heart That Bends Inward
Scripture is unflinching about the condition of the human heart. The prophet Jeremiah wrote,
