Chapter 3 — Human Motivations
Iron discipline is for losers.
When the European tribes were confronted with the political opportunities associated with adopting the Christian religion, they still carried their gloomy outlook and lack of sophistication. The ostensible claims of loyalty to one God via one Church presented a problem: It was well nigh impossible to make it heroic and fun. The closest remedy was pulling in their ancient answer to anything else — iron discipline. Very quickly their brand of faith became a matter of hard duty. This wasn’t foreign to Greco-Roman psychology, but the German version was much darker and deeper, much more harsh.
In ANE civilizations, the psychology of life was far more complex. If you were unable to climb the heights of mystical thinking, then perhaps iron discipline would get you through. However, among the civilized upper classes, this was a loser’s game. It would eventually fail you because it only enforces moral blindness. It is dry and lifeless, and humans are not machines. Sheer logic only answers the immediate question of things on the surface; the divine life force required a higher understanding. There was never any doubt in the mystical mind that moral imperatives made a difference, even if your mind couldn’t identify an immediate connection.
The ultimate power to drive a flagging human spirit interest through difficult times was the sense of personal loyalty. Western reasoning is utterly impersonal and dehumanizing. ANE reasoning keeps the personal central. Ultimate truth would always be a personal life force, regardless what deity or deities you served. Duty could not be made an abstract; there could be no objective standard. You weren’t loyal to something because it was perfect or absolute; you were loyal to someone because you cared deeply about their wishes. You were personally accountable.
The silly Medieval notions of romantic love as some irresistible force that drove your emotions would never fly in the ANE. That’s just animal lust. Genuine human affection was entirely different; they even had different words for it. Your affections do arise independently, but they are utterly predictable. That is, where you invest yourself most deeply is where your love will stand. In the ANE, if your sense of duty to your god(s) held you in service to this or that earthly authority — always a person — you could be sure your emotional warmth would follow. Whom you willingly serve you will always grow to love. You would choose wisely where you invest yourself, because the affection of your master made life worth living. All the likely material rewards, even fame and the high regard of your peers, was of little importance without that.
By the same token, the gods were known to love in the same fashion. Few of them were considered arbitrary or capricious, despite generally being inscrutable. That vision of reaching with your soul into the Heavenly Realm was not simply some impersonal joy. The mind might delight itself with discovering some reasoning and learning logic, but the soul itself was not like that. It could sense the warm regard of a personal power in the presence of deity. This is far beyond mere emotion. The will to embrace a higher power is far above emotion because it has no root in the animal functions of the body. The confirmation is the growing desire and delight that can only come to your awareness from a higher power.
The proper motivation for serving God is the sheer joy of His personal affection.
