226. Serving God From Fear and From Love

Teshuvah 10:1

One should not perform the mitzvos and study Torah in order to earn the rewards its promises or to earn life in the Next World. Similarly, one should not separate himself from sins in order to be spared the curses threatened in the Torah or to avoid spiritual excision. This is not the proper way to serve God; doing so is considered service out of fear and it is not a very high level. People learn to serve God out of fear until their knowledge increases and they are able to serve Him out of love.

Teshuvah 10:2

A person who serves God out of love studies Torah, performs mitzvos and follows the path of wisdom without an ulterior motive. He does not do so to avoid evil, nor to be rewarded. Rather, he does what he does because it’s true. Ultimately, however, he will benefit because of it. This is a high level of service that not everyone achieves. God described Abraham as “the one who loved Me” (Isaiah 41:8) because he served God in this manner. God commanded us to strive for this level in Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love Hashem, your God.” When a person loves God properly, he will immediately be inspired to perform the mitzvos out of love.