Passion Doesn’t Always Come First
In Blog, perspective 27 commentsJul 11
{Passion-first advocates, forgive me. I’m about to mess with your theories and beliefs.}
There is one thing that separates those who will live all out for God and those who don’t, and it is not based on passion.
I have some close friends who know this. When they decided to foster children, they didn’t do so because they had a passion to add to their number of 3, feed more mouths, fill every corner of their 1,500 square foot house. They decided they wanted to be more like Jesus, so they interrupted their comfortable life to mimic His.
The reality is that we like to talk about the passion more than the choice because somehow, passion feels more important.
And we who follow Jesus can defend the passion by saying yes, but He gives us the passion and we will do more for Him if we have it, and it will be true, because He does and we will. But in that conviction we sometimes forget that following God is not an emotion but always a choice. As we live out our choice, so grows our passion. In a passion-driven society, I fear we have gotten this backwards.
And it’s also the truth: we’ve seen people who were all in with God one day and now they aren’t because the passion left and they didn’t know they could serve Him without it. Our churches, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces…are full of unfulfilled people waiting for the passion to come before making the move, and that is a choice, itself.
I don’t suggest that we settle for a life without passion. I just ask that, for believers, we don’t let it determine what we do or don’t do for God.
Because one day we will wake up and the feet will be tired and the Christian will have wounded us and it will feel easier to let someone else talk about God and serve the needs and do the Jesus work.
And in those moments we won’t have the passion.
But we can still make the choice.
*Conversation: Passion doesn’t always come first. Agree? Disagree? And how does that personally break down for you, right now?
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Hi Lisa,
If you’ve been vacationing, I hope you are refreshed. Nice to see you posting again.
I agree that passion doesn’t always come first. As relates to decision making, passion may not be a factor at all, but I don’t know if an “act of the will” is ever without at least some emotion (I’m thinking in the context of the implementation of the thing willed, “feeling right or desirable” – or the opposite in the case of an unhealthy decision).
When it comes to emotion (passion ostensibly being indicative of extreme intensity), as relational beings with souls, I don’t know that choice and emotion/passion need be an “either/or”, nor need it be a “chicken or egg first” question.
I think emotion fluctuates, but will always precede a choice. As regards “living out the life of Jesus in and through me” (life by the Spirit), I am thankful that it is God who causes me to will and to do, because left to my own devices (flesh) I would often choose unwisely, saying nothing of my misguided motives. (and yes, the “fleshly choice” is made too often).
Great post! It has got me thinking about choices that are part of my current reality, and other things…..
Thank you for these thoughts, Tom. I value them, and they, too, make me think.
hi lisa,
you hit the nail dead on the head again. too often our choices are based on our emotions. if our feelings dont line up with what we want to do we dont do it. you choose to love (hear that all your marrieds?) we choose to be obedient to God and His word (not wait until it feels good). God bless you and yours.
Thank you, Joseph. Always a choice, yes. Take care!
Passion used to be everything for me. I functioned out of passion and saw God do some amazing things in and through me because of Passion.
Now I am a stay at home mom with no passion and an unfulfilled life. Your piece has spoken to me about actually being like Jesus, not for the passion that creates so much energy but the decision to follow Jesus’ example. I am a long way from being able to do this but it sounds really good in theory.
Thanks for your honesty here, Lisa. I hear your heart in this. May He continue to use this post to stir things within.
Lisa… I could have written these exact words… God is also challenging me to redefine what I consider a purposeful life… He has me in a “secret” or private season of ministering small. And maybe our “small” is much bigger than we understand.
Thank you Lisa W for speaking to our hearts!
There have been many instances throughout the years where God led me to things that I didn’t have a passion for. But I did it out of obedience and through that, passion was developed. Very good word!
Love this, Stephanie. Thank you for sharing!
Personally for me…passion and choice are one in the same, both born out of love. I choose because of the passion and I have passion because of the choice.
Thank you for sharing, Peggy.
Oh I agree! So much comes back to our choices… You’ve also left me thinking about what I’m passionate about and the reason why. Sometimes I think we can become more passionate about what we are doing rather than Who we are doing it for. Thanks again for the perspective check, so good to hear from you again!
Honestly, I’m not a fan of the word, probably because it’s been so overused in the past few years. How I break it down? A few years ago I would have told you (and would have backed it up with action) that I’m a passionate person. I liked most of that person back then. A part of me misses her greatly. But time has tempered that side of me. I don’t operate out of a lot of emotion these days. I operate from a place of obedience. Rarely am I “feeling” it.
Each day I make a decision to walk it out, my faith. It’s the only reasonable decision to make. All others are void of purpose, hope, and direction. I just keep walking it out. Every now and again, I feel that old passion welling up inside of me, and I latch on to it. But for now, I have no other solid underpinning than my obedience . . . and something tells me that will hold me longer than my passion.
Great post, Lisa.
peace~elaine
Elaine — I love this perspective…your thoughts…all of it. I am with you, more than you know.
Lisa, You have written very wise words in your blog today. I’m an artist. We artists are frequently told by teachers that we must have “passion” for our art. However, I was a freelance illustrator for many years and as such I could not wait for “passion” for my art to come; the client was waiting and being charged. I soon learned inspiration and passion came when I did the work. As a Christian I’ve experienced the very same thing….inspiration and passion come after obedience to the Lord.
Thank you for sharing this, Adele. Love the practical picture of how passion and work come together!
Cool post, Lisa. I think you have a very valid point here and think often it’s a little unpopular to talk about with our generation. Passion is everything to us, but the day-to-day duty behind it is quite daunting; faithfulness is tough, in any circumstance, I think. That’s why Christ’s faithfulness is really astounding to me… because of my unfaithfulness.
Again, though, thanks for this post. I agree with you… let’s temper passion with reason and with resolve. So that we can dialogue about perspectives other than our own and so that we can put structure and intentionality to both our Christian walk and subsequently, our life goals.
Love that you stopped by, Kate, and love even more that you weighed in. Thank you for sharing your perspective…I value it, smart woman!
Lisa;
I love this post, especially where you share that your friends decided to interrupt their comfortable lives and follow Jesus.
Passion is wonderful, but we have to determine what passion really is to us. Christ’s passion was to die on the cross to set us free from sin. His horrific suffering was the joy set before Him, His purpose for laying down His deity and coming in human form.
I think we oftentimes believe that passion is an arrival to something great, doing great work for fulfillment, recognition and productivity and perhaps with no cost involved. Christ’s passion was sacrifice. It cost Him. I’m not sure some of us want our passion to cost us anything. I know I am guilty of this.
This is a lesson that God has been teaching me over the past few weeks. I am single, never married and never had children. This was not my plan, but God’s. For the past few weeks, I have been caring for my nephew who has special needs while his mother is on a teaching project in another country. She is pursuing her passion. The cost for this to happen is the “interruption of my comfortable life” (having more freedom to do what I want when), the comforts that her son requires just to get through the day without any stress, and both of them missing each other like crazy.
Passion can be pretty and admirable, but it requires much more than we may be willing to give. Christ gave His all, deity and everything. For each of us to truly pursue what we are passionate about, are we willing to accept the cost and give up what is comfortable for His sake (Luke 9:57-62)? I think passion requires so much more.
Monica
As I think more on this, passion does not always have to be present or come first. The Bible says that it is God who moves us to will and to do for His good pleasure. Conviction, as mentioned in another post, may be the only way God can get us to move for Him. Obedience and devotion take discipline, whether we are passionate about something or not. Passion requires something.
Monica
I once heard a pastor speak about the importance of showing up (to church, to your devotion time, etc.) even when you don’t feel like it. He said it’s not disrespectful to not want to do it and still show up. He said it’s building habits and showing God you care even to serve Him even when you don’t want to. It’s serving even without passion. It’s hard but it’s also necessary.
Katie
I agree that passion doesn’t always come first. Sometimes I think that “lack of passion” gives us an easy “out”. I think that some of us can be guilty of using God’s name to get out of something that is uncomfortable: “God didn’t give me the desire/passion for ______, so its not something I’m going to do.” I think conviction is much more appropriate. When God convicts us to do something, I think its our responsibility to be obedient and MOVE! Conviction comes even when passion is nowhere around.
Thanks for sharing! It was encouraging to get up and MOVE!
Just a big AMEN and thank you Lisa!
To love Him is to obey Him. Obedience to His will and calling….HE gives us the desires of our hearts and He gives us passion as He sees fit. Often times, obeying is choosing to do some of the hardest things of life.
Passion for obedience and humility and surrender and the pursuit of holiness…passion for Him.
Thanks Lisa!
My father always says, “Emotion follows motion.” So true. We can’t live on our emotions/passion alone. We’d accomplish nothing and would give up at the slightest tribulation.
I mostly agree.
Just had something to add..
The central problem with relying on passion isn’t that it’s unsatisfying, temporary, incomplete, or weak; it’s that biblically speaking, it is not even of God! The notion of passion (worldly, as you describe) being the crux of a Christian’s acting faith immediately brings to mind the parable of the seeds, of which only one group was truly founded in the Lord. If I saw a professing believer sway from the church because a lack of “passion,” my concern for her might be whether Christ has actually gripped her soul in the first place.
I do get it: we can still as believers with the indwelling Spirit do certain works with or apart from God, in different instances. However, those times without will not bear His fruit. If our central motivator is not continuously, as a life habit, Christ Himself, there is more missing than a simple misguided motivation to do good works or show up to church.
The point is, we are no more responsible for the service we do than we are for salvation itself. God prompts all things done for Him. So while I appreciate the call to arms to buck up when we’re blue, this is not something that is done in our own strength. Even at our “spiritual best,” we have to recognize that nothing we do that is truly for Him, is because of us, our goodness, our hard work.
Passion preached first is nothing less than of the enemy, because it elevates us rather than God.
Two of our three boys had graduated from highschool when we got a call to take in three littles one year ago. Not what we planned, and not something we were necessarily “passionate” about. Sure, we talked about the widow and orphan, but the actual DOING of it is difficult. This obedience has not been glamorous or easy, but it’s right and good. And passion has had very little to do with it.
Very new Christian trying my darndest to exhibit the fruits of the spirit. I’m all about blog posts such as this one that will help me in this new journey. Thank you. I’m subscribing to everything I see on your sidebar.