The Thing about Passion

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I talk a lot about passion. I don’t apologize for that. Passion is important in life. You should never pursue a business idea or career path that you do not find any passion for in yourself. And if you find yourself in a career or business you are not passionate about, change it. Get out of it or find the missing piece that brings passion into what you do.

But passion is not a value in and of itself. It is just a by-product of doing something you find significant. Something you believe matters. It is the sign that you are contributing to something that makes a difference to you. It is a result of being involved in changing the world. When you do what you were designed to do with a healthy attitude, passion just seems to manifest itself.

Passion is a signpost to your purpose. And yet, pursuing something you are passionate about is not enough. You need to pursue something you are passionate about that serves others. If it does not serve others it is a selfish passion. Selfish never leads to your best life. Passion is not the end goal.

Your passion is informed by your beliefs, your values, and your past experiences. So if your values are wrong, or your past experiences were messed-up, your passions may lead you down the wrong road altogether. Then the first item of business should be to work on that.

Passions need to be qualified. Some passions lead straight to hell. Either literally or figuratively. Lust is a passion. And yet it will lead you right into sin. I have met many people who are passionate about things that will cause them all kinds of grief in the future. A hell on earth, so to speak.

So if you are passionate about something, make sure your passion is based on proper beliefs and values. Make sure that it is your healthy past experiences that are causing it. I said passion is a signpost to your purpose. But it is only one of the signposts we have. Even if your passion compass is broken, there are other ways to find your way. And eventually passion will be yours again.

Passion cannot be pursued for the sake of passion. It is like Jesus says: “he who seeks to save his life, will lose it. But he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” This principle applies to many things in life. Passion works the same way. If you pursue something just because you are passionate about it, it will end up leaving you empty. Burned-out even. It will deny you significance.

Pursue something you are passionate about because of the difference it can make. Pursue your passion because it glorifies God or serves needs you see. That is the way of significance. The best life is where pursuing your purpose leaves you fulfilled. In fact, such a passion will often ask you to sacrifice yourself for the cause. And you will find yourself doing so willingly. That is the sign of an unselfish passion.

Your passion will change with the season and call of your life. Some things we will only be passionate about for a season. There is nothing wrong with that. Fulfil the purpose that passion drives you to. Then move on. Life changes. Your values change. You grow up. You receive new insight. Let it change your passions. It’s called living it up! Life was never meant to be static.

Your purpose grows with your maturity. So will your passion. Our purpose is a process. The needs in the world around us change, so it makes sense that our purpose and passion would change too. Don’t be too quick to write off past passions as not knowing your purpose. View them as a continuing journey. Think of it as being transformed from glory to glory.

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