What If We All Were So Passionate?
by WCBVivian sent this to me (Bill)
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I just finished reading “Three Cups of Tea : One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations … One School at a Time” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, and it’s got me thinking.
The book jacket says, “Although he was a homeless ‘climbing bum’ … Mortenson sold what few possessions he had to launch one of the most remarkable humanitarian campaigns of our time….. Today, as the director of the Central Asia Institute, Mortenson has built fifty-five schools serving Pakistan and Afghanistan’s poorest communities…. he provides not only hope to tens of thousands of children, but living proof that one passionately dedicated person truly can change the world.”
I asked my family last night at the dinner table, what kind of world would it be if everyone lived like that?
I’d like to find out. What is God calling you to be passionately dedicated about?
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Anybody want to share?
December 19th, 2007 at 9:45 am
I’ll go first.
I am very passionate about writing. I just wish I were better at it.
I want very much to write things “on people’s hearts,”such that it will stay with them, make a difference in their lives, draw them closer to Jesus.
December 20th, 2007 at 8:55 am
The mature Mortenson (in contrast to the ‘climbing bum’) represents a convergence of three important things: passion, vision, and leadership.
I’ve always liked that verse, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Passion is great, as long as it’s something I want you to feel passionate about. Zealotry and nationalism are also passion, but with negative implications that can have disastrous, international consequences. So, yeah, I want to be passionate, but I’m not so sure about the next guy.
If we all had our own vision and drive to lead, our world would be in gridlock with competing ideas trying to dominate. There’s a lot to be said for followership, but that is so much less glitzy. Mortenson couldn’t live up to his passion without people saying, “Yes, that’s a great idea. Let’s create that school!” There’s a lot to be said for rest, relaxation, incubation, too, which is what Mortenson was doing as a ‘climbing bum’ before he found the something to be passionate for.
Personally, I like to live my life in a passionate way, gung ho for whatever idea or project I have at the time, whether it’s throwing a party, teaching a class, or writing a story. My worry is that I’ll burn out the people around me who have to pick up the slack when I’m “in the zone.” After all, somebody has to do the laundry.
-Susan
December 26th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Thinking of passion reminds me of what I read in “The Present Future” by Reggie McNeal:
“We have turned our churches into groups of people who are studying God as though they were taking a course at school or attending a business seminar. We aim at the head. We don’t deal in relationship. And we wonder why there is no passion for Jesus and his mission?”
I am passionate about helping folks at PACC and elsewhere develop more passion in their relationships with God and each other.
December 27th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Vivian,
So, why do people study God. What makes people want to set aside time to learn something, grow closer to someone else?
Interest, desire, those things that if cultivated become passion, no?
Rather, I think that when someone falls in love with another they become passionate about the other. When someone is genuinely happy to be with another they find joy in the experience. When one finds that the other’s devotion cannot be broken there comes a peace…love, joy, peace… Passion, I think, comes from cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We should pray daily to be more loving, more filled with joy, more peace, patience…and then passion will grow as well.
No?