Niccoló Machiavelli was a 16th century Italian Renaissance historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer, whose name has become part of the English language; if we say someone is ‘Machiavellian’, we mean that they are scheming and devious, adept at getting their own way and manipulating others to do what they want them to do. He’s probably most famous for writing ‘The Prince’, describing an ‘ideal’ ruler; in the book, he writes about immoral behaviour, such as dishonesty and killing innocent people, as being a normal and effective way of governing, and one of his most famous sayings is ‘the end justifies the means.’ For Machiavelli, immoral behaviour – dishonesty, cruelty, even murder – can be condoned if it is for a ‘justifiable’ end. Machiavelli’s views are the views of so much of our modern society, and it can be very difficult for Christians not to absorb this way of thinking as the norm, because it’s so utterly prevalent around us. That is why Paul urges us not to ‘conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,’ (Rom 12:2) because we need a completely different way of thinking, a completely different pattern or mould.
According to Machiavelli, fear is a powerful motivator and it is better to be feared than to be loved. Fear inhibits us, however; if we are afraid, we are not likely to do much at all. We see that in the Parable of the Talents, when the servant’s perception of the master as cruel and to be feared led to his burying his money and doing nothing profitable with it. (Matt 25:24-25) John reminds us that perfect love drives out fear (1 Jn 4:18) and Paul shows us that love has to be the thing which motivates every action (1 Cor 13:1-3).
Love is God’s motivator (1 Jn 4:9, Jn 3:16) and therefore nothing less than love has to be our motivator. Christ’s love must be the compelling force behind all that we do (2 Cor 5:14).
In the 1990s, Mr Motivator was one of the fitness icons on TV urging people to adopt exercise and therefore live a healthier life. Love has to be our ‘Mr Motivator’ in all we do.