[pillut48]

Therefore many may choose God simply out of fear of damnation or hope of eternal reward rather than the desire to please God. ...then 'they' won't have many gems in their crowns once they get to heaven, will they? We are told to 'become' Christ-like, to give of ourselves literally and completely, trusting fully in His Will for us, even when we don't understand...if someone only 'loves' God out of fear or greed, then they truly aren't loving God the way they should.

[padre35]

The Lord is akin to our Father, now if we can deduce from the natural the spiritual, who loves their Father only because they are afraid that He will punish them? Who loves their Father only because they hope to “get something nice from him”?

[Rhadaghast]

then 'they' won't have many gems in their crowns once they get to heaven, will they?

Jesus pointed out the motivation of people in many instances, specifically when asked what was the greatest commandment. That definitely pointed to movitation and underlying repsonse. Man can still join a church to get fire insurance and now he can join a church for future and current reward, but the motivation as described in I Corinthians means his selfish nature is creating hay, wood and stubble, not gems in a crown. Are you saying you have a different view of man and if so, what is it?