From early instinct theories in the 1900s to contemporary models of self-determination, the study of motivation in psychology has sought to explain why humans act, persist, and thrive. William James (1890) and later Sigmund Freud (1915) framed motivation in terms of innate drives, which gave way to behaviourist explanations, most famous of which is B. F. Skinner’s work in the 1930s–1950s showing how reinforcement shapes action. A major shift came with the humanistic movement, where Abraham Maslow (1943) proposed the Hierarchy of Needs, arguing that people are driven not only by survival but by growth and meaning. In the late twentieth century, Edward Deci and Richard Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (1985) offered a landmark view that autonomy, competence, and relatedness energise healthy motivation. These studies have deeply influenced approaches to personal wellbeing, helping individuals cultivate intrinsic purpose and resilience, and have informed societal health by shaping education, workplace policy, and community design around the conditions that help people flourish. Prior to all these thinkers, Christian scripture provided a clear picture of the most fundamental human motivation – the deepest hunger and thirst of the soul (e.g. Isaiah 55; Matthew 5:6; Psalm 143:6; John 4:14, 6:35, 7:37; Psalm 42:2; Psalm 63:1; Psalm 107:9; Revelation 7:16-17).