Friday, February 16, 2007
Passion
Recently, I have been challenged to think about passion. Not romantic passion, but the passion people have to do certain things. Lets take my dad as an example here. My dad has a passion for science. He retired recently, and now he spends even more time doing scientific stuff than he used to when he was employed as a scientist. He has a passion.
In some ways what I'm talking about is quite similar to an Everest. Growing up, I have always felt that I needed a passion, that I was muddling through life, and one day I would find a passion that would show me where I should be focusing my efforts.
The challenging that I have been thinking through recently is this. Do I need a passion. Is a passion necessary for life, or is it something some people will have and others will not? And if it is not, how do you go about living life without one?
It seems to me that a Passion is not necessary, in fact I can see situations where it could be quite detrimental. A married couple who both have passions that are not exactly in sync are going to end up fighting a lot more than the average.
I know some of you are at this point thinking “Your a Christian, you do have a passion, and that is for seeing gods gospel spread”. True, but not completely... The thing is that while that is a goal for most Christians, I think it is fair to say that it is not a passion, at least not of the kind I am talking about. There are people for whom it is, and generally, they are ministers or missionaries. But God did not plan for us all to be missionaries or ministers.
What am I saying? I think I am saying that while I have a desire to spread the gospel, (and also a desire to support other Christians) I don't think that either of these are something I could describe as a passion. Maybe I'm wrong here? Maybe my passion should be for this?
What am I talking about here? Is passion even the right word, or should I be talking about Obsession? That word has quite negative connotations, but it is probably closer to the concept I am trying to grasp. Now don't get me wrong, I think obsessions are important in this world. I don't think scientific advancement would happen without people who had this obsession (along with the ability to do the work) I just think there is a price to them too, and I wonder if it's a price everyone should be paying?
So, here's what I want to ask. Do you feel that you have a passion(obsession?). A driving force that guides your life. Something you would give up and suffer much for. And if so what? Do you think it is wrong to not have a passion? And for those without one, how do you go through life without one?
