What is your Passion?
While casually perusing through the Sunday newspaper, during one of those, ‘planned brain-free, caffeine overdose’ mornings, I was side-swiped by a comment written in a side bar of the living section (a section that I never read of course), which torpedoed my morning coach potato intentions and then launched me into a deep philosophical and reflective moment with myself and…well no one (ever have one of these moments?)
The placement of these words was so obscure as if they were never intended to be read by anyone. So why in the world did I have to see them? Yet there they were bottom right hand corner, left column, 8 point Arial font, below the Macy’s ad of course, they read, “, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.”
These simple eight words seem to agitate my comfort zone more than expected, by peculating deep thoughts that were not allowed on the coach on Sunday afternoons. As much as I tried to subdue these little rascals, the more they surfaced. Finally, I gave in and the journey to interpret the impact of this statement, in the long run, was well worth the mental vertical toboggan ride. I found myself asking the question over and over as if my memory bank was incapable of inching forward any further, “What do I think about all day long?” “What gets my goat?” “What pulls my chain?” It was evident that my brain demanded an answer to the question one that was sure to begat a slew of other questions (that’s how my mind works).
To my surprise, the answer flowed out quite clearly and quickly, I think about two things all day long. My family and the local church. What I realized after answering the question, was that what I thought about all day long was what I was most passionate about as well… duh, there is a connection between the two.
Passion, we can see, is one of mankind’s most powerful driving forces. Passion is consuming. It’s tinged with discontent, restlessness, and determination that propel one to action. And these are not necessarily unholy things (though they can be); within the context of pursuing godly purpose, consuming dissatisfaction can be the point at which you make the beautifully reckless decision to abandon yourself in pursuit of fulfilling your divine calling. But passion also has its effect on other causes. You don’t have to go far before bumping into some.
In other words, passion is a tool God has given you to help you achieve your purpose. It’s the coal in your internal locomotive engine. It’s what causes you to dream. It inspires you, it captivates your thoughts, it invades your emotions, and, in fact, it challenges you when you don’t give it enough attention.
The inference here is that what you are passionate about is exactly the thing you have the greatest potential of becoming. So where is your passion focused? That passion you have for golf … where is it leading you? What about your passion for success … is it for God’s good pleasure and delight, or your own?
Passion directed by God is an unstoppable force. But make no mistake, the devil conspires to arrest your passion and redirect it to futile motives. Passion that isn’t carefully understood for its motive and regularly monitored for its effect has the potential to send anyone, even the most disciplined person, careening off course. This detour is, at minimum, a distraction and, in some cases, quite devastating.
One of the greatest sins we commit against God is not reaching the potential he has placed in us. Every person has been chosen, then given a purpose and a measure of passion. How you direct your passion in everyday life will greatly determine whether you are successful in fulfilling your purpose. Like a sharp knife in your kitchen drawer, passion can be extremely helpful or extremely harmful. It must be carefully directed and used for its intended purpose. Make it your aim today to set your passions in alignment with your purpose. In doing so, you will see God do great things with your life and your future.
And the next time you are reading the Sunday Newspaper, keep your eyes off of little dumb quotes pasted in the far outreaching portions of the page. They just my mash your planned coach potato moment, and cause you do something radical; like think about who you are and where you are going.
