The Circle of Passion
From the Series—Behind the Ministry
July 19, 2002A few years ago a Dutch psychologist did a study to determine what factors separated Chess Grand Masters from Chess Masters. He conducted a battery of tests measuring IQ, spatial reasoning, and memory retention, but he found no measurable difference between the Grand Masters and Masters. He concluded that only one thing separated the Grand Masters and the Masters. The Chess Grand Masters loved playing chess more than the Chess Masters. The Dutch Psychologist said, “They had more passion.”
Last week we looked at the circle of giftedness--those things we do best. This week’s evotional focuses on the circle of passion--those things we love most. Fulfillment and fruitfulness are found where those two circles overlap.
Romans 12:11 says, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Let me say it like it is. There is only one way to keep your spiritual fervor--by serving the Lord. II Timothy 2:7 says, “Fan into flame the gift of God that is in you.” The Message says, “And that special gift of ministry you were given--keep that dusted off and in use.”
The Zeal Deal
There is a fascinating phrase repeated several times in the Old Testament. II Kings 19, Isaiah 9, and Isaiah 37 say, “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” There is an unmistakable link between zeal and accomplishment. You can’t have one without the other. In the words of William Scolavino, “The height of your accomplishments will be determined by the depth of your convictions.”
In John 2, Jesus single-handedly chases the money changers out of the Temple with a homemade whip. John 2 says the disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” To be like Jesus is to be consumed by zeal.
The word enthusiasm comes from two Greek words--en and Theos--or “in God.” The more we “get into God” the more enthusiastic we become! Followers of Christ ought to be the most passionate people on the planet. There is only one word of caution when it comes to zeal. Proverbs 19:2 says, “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge.” We need both/and--deep feelers and deep thinkers.
Make Sure Your Portfolio Matches Your Passion
It is 445 BC and the wall of Jerusalem is in ruins. In the ancient world, a city wall was the first and last line of defense. So Jerusalem was defenseless. A thousand miles due west is a palace waiter named Nehemiah. He has no architectural training that we know of. He has no construction experience that we know of. There is no reason why he should be able to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem that has been in ruins for ninety-three years. But this waiter turned construction foreman leads Israel in one of history’s greatest construction projects. They rebuild the wall of Jerusalem in fifty-two days flat!
Nehemiah 1:11 says, “I was cupbearer to the king.” That is Nehemiah’s portfolio. I’m not sure where it ranked on the palace pay scale, but “anything to the king” came with perks and prestige. He worked at the White House! And Nehemiah had job security--an important commodity in any culture. There was one problem: his portfolio didn’t match his passion. He was punching his time card in Babylon, but his heart was a thousand miles due west. His passion was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem.
In Nehemiah 2:4, the king asks Nehemiah a great question. “What is it you want?” Most of us know what’s expected of us, but most of us don’t know what we want. We all need to ask and answer that question: what is it you want? If you had unlimited time and resources, what would you do with your life?
Nehemiah knows what he wants, but he still has a tough decision to make. He can stick with his portfolio or pursue his passion. The word decision comes from the Latin word caedere which means “to cut.” A decision cuts off a possibility.
Nehemiah has to give up his job as cupbearer in Babylon if he’s going to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. No wonder Nehemiah was “very much afraid.” But he has the courage to hand in his resignation. He says, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city of Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
Does your portfolio match your passion? If it doesn’t, you need to do something about it. George Burns said, “I’d rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate.” Your work and ministry ought to be a labor of love. Someone has said, “If the love of what you’re doing exceeds the labor of doing it, success is inevitable.”
Fredrick Buechner said, “The voice we should listen to most as we choose a vocation is the voice that we might think we should listen to least, and that is the voice of our own gladness. What can we do that makes us the gladdest? I believe that if it is a thing that makes us truly glad, then it is a good thing and it is our thing.”
A few centuries ago, there was a tradition within the church that asked the question, “Did you take pleasure in it?” to determine whether or not something was sinful. What a terrible test. God wouldn’t pass the test. His first reaction recorded in Scripture is delight and pleasure and joy in his work. Seven times it says, “And God saw that it was good.” It was good and it made Him glad. There is a link between goodness and gladness when it comes to world of work and ministry. You ought to love what you do and do what you love. St. John of the Cross said, “The soul lives by that which it loves.”
The Energizer Bunny
Remember the pink bunny in the Energizer commercials that “keeps going and going and going”? That is what passion does. It energizes us.
Nehemiah says, “We continued the work from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, ‘Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day.’ Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.”
Nehemiah was working a sixteen-hour day--up at the crack of dawn and still working when the stars came out. He was doing double duty--guard by night and workman by day. He even slept in his clothes! How did he keep that pace? The answer is passion. Passion is a supernatural stimulant. It’s the thing that gets us up early and keeps us up late.
Study after study has shown that our attitude increases or decreases our energy level. If you are working and ministering outside your circle of passion you’ll eventually burn out. But if you’re working inside your circle of passion it is energizing. One of the greatest feelings in the world is being totally exhausted and totally energized at the same time! That’s how Nehemiah must have felt. And that’s what happens when you work and minister inside your circle of passion.
In John 4, there is a fascinating dialogue between Jesus and his disciples. The disciples were concerned about Jesus because he hadn’t eaten in quite some time. He was burning the candle at both ends. Crowds that numbered in the thousands constantly swarmed him. Imagine the expenditure of energy involved in casting out demons, healing the sick, showing compassion to the outcasts, teaching the crowds, defending his actions to the Pharisees, and adjudicating the disciples’ infighting. But even after a full day of ministry, not to mention miles of hiking through mountainous terrain, Jesus would often get up early, stay up late or even pull an all-nighter. Jesus kept going and going and going. How did he keep that pace? A dialogue between Jesus and the disciples reveals his secret.
His disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to the do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
Nothing is as deenergizing as sin. When you sin, you end up spending energy on things like guilt and shame, fear and anxiety. Frankly, it’s a waste of energy. We underestimate the effects of sin not just spiritually, but physically, emotionally, and mentally. That’s the downside. The upside is that nothing is as energizing as doing the will of God--it’s like making double-time on a moving sidewalk. It’s amazing how far and how fast God can take you when you stay within the guardrails of His “good, pleasing, and perfect will.” The Spirit of God energizes you not just spiritually, but physically, emotionally, and intellectually as well.
Laser Focus
In 1941, T.S. Eliot posed a poetic question, “Can a life represent one motive?” Passion is the thing that keeps us focused. Webster calls it an “intense, driving, overmastering conviction.”
Nehemiah faced lots of distractions, but he wouldn’t be sidetracked. In Nehemiah 6:2, Sanballat sent Nehemiah a message, “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.”
That was his tip-off right there--the plain of O-No! Sanballat wasn’t interested in making peace. It was an assassination attempt. Nehemiah replied, “My work is too important to stop now. I cannot afford to slow down the work just to visit you.” Four times Sanballat invited him to come. Four times Nehemiah refused to go. Passion kept him out of trouble by keeping him focused.
A Noble Theme
Here’s a final thought. Psalm 45:1 says, “My heart is stirred by a noble theme.” All of us need a noble theme--something to live for and die for. We start dying when we have nothing worth living for and we start living when we have something worth dying for. What’s your noble theme?