In Texas, a school truant officer discovers Alfredo Gonzales, age 14, picking fruit and sends him off to the first day of school in his life. Although placed at the lowest skill level and paddled for asking questions in Spanish - the only language he knows - Alfredo decides, "I could do better." He did. Today he is a highly educated college administrator who works to motivate youth to wake up, as he did, to their own potential and to gain a desire to achieve it. Alfredo was self-motivated. He is a good example of intrinsic motivation.

In sports, as in other activities, studies have repeatedly shown that excessive external pressures and incentives can undermine our intrinsic enjoyment. For example, a 1980 study by researcher Dean Ryan involving university football players found that those on athletic scholarships (who were, in a sense, playing for pay) enjoyed playing less than did the non-scholarship players. Had pay and pressure turned play into labor? Perhaps, but it can be argued that rewards can increase intrinsic motivation if their effect is to inform the players of their athletic competence, as with a "most improved player" award.

Does this mean coaches should emphasize extrinsic pres-sures, rewards, and competition? The studies by Edward Deci and others indicate that it also depends on the goal. For some, as for legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, "Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing." But what if the goal is, as it should be for most programs of physical educa-tion, fitness, and amateur sports, the promotion of an enduring interest and participation in physical activity? In that case, as Deci and others have observed, external pres-sures, competitive emphasis, and evaluative feedback are in contradiction to the goal. In other words, if children’s soccer coaches want their kids to continue playing in the future, they should focus not so much on winning but on the joy of playing one’s best and simply enjoying the sport.

Interestingly, researchers in the psychology of religion have also explored intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. They have found that some religiously active people score high on tests for extrinsic religious motivation. These people report their religion is a means to other ends. However, others score high on intrinsic religious motivation report their faith is an end in itself. When the two groups are compared the intrinsically religious people tend to score lower on tests for prejudice and anxiety. They also tend to live with a greater sense of control over their lives and a clearer sense of purpose. Ideally, we should worship God for who He is, not for what He can do for us.

Motivation and Worship

Therefore, what motivates us is larger than students and learning in a school context.

Whether we admit it or not, most of us expect something in return for what we do. This even applies to attending worship services. One of the most often heard statements made as people leave their church is, "Did you get anything out of that sermon?" But it is not just the pastor’s sermon that receives such scrutiny. It is the worship experience itself: "That service didn’t really do anything for me." Such statements clearly reveal that many church attenders want and/or expect something for their effort to attend. Further, if they don’t receive what they are looking for they will likely find another church that "meets their needs" or, more specifically, their expectations.

This factor of a need for external motivation in the context of worship is also often seen in statements such as, "I didn’t feel like worshiping today." Or, "The music in church today motivated me to worship God." Does this mean they would not have worshiped had there been different music? While there is nothing wrong with being motivated to worship God by the singing of a stimulating chorus or listening to a well orchestrated choir, should we as believers be dependent on such factors in order to worship God? In Scripture aren’t we expected to worship God whether we feel like it or not, whether our external circumstances motivate us or not? Job certainly did (Job 1:20), as did Paul and Silas (Acts 16:25).