Passion without purpose cannot accomplish anything. Without purpose to direct our energy and our heart, we will inevitably relapse into self-satisfaction and self-fulfillment rather than fulfilling the mission to which we are called. Purpose brings definition and direction to my passion. It guides my decisions, to know when to act, when to refrain, when to speak, and when to stay silent.
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Scripture
2 Samuel 18:29
And the king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was.”
Observation
Ahimaaz had passion and calling. His calling was to be a message-bearer, and he served with passion. The ‘mission’ was to carry urgent news, so that the king and military commanders could make the right decisions in a timely way, for the good of the kingdom. Unfortunately, Ahimaaz began to take his eye off the target. His passion began to drift–not to carry important news to the decision-makers…but instead to simply carry news for his own sense of self-satisfaction and self-importance. Here he was at the battle, important things were happening, and Ahimaaz began to feel left-out because someone else got the most important assignment. He insisted on being included, but failed in his mission because he made it about himself. He outran the other messenger and blurted out his news to the king…only to realize that he had no ‘news’ to tell.
Application
Passion without purpose cannot accomplish anything. Without purpose to direct our energy and our heart, we will inevitably relapse into self-satisfaction and self-fulfillment rather than fulfilling the mission to which we are called. Purpose brings definition and direction to my passion. It guides my decisions, to know when to act, when to refrain, when to speak, and when to stay silent. Purpose keeps my heart humble–because the ‘purpose’ is the main thing, not my own role or preferences. As long as the purpose is fulfilled, then it really doesn’t matter who gets the glory.
This week, I need to be mindful to keep the mission at the center of all I do. Instead of letting situations devolve into disagreements about preference or position, I must instead focus myself and those I lead on the ‘purpose’–because it defines and guides all else. When we keep the mission of the gospel of Jesus Christ at the center of all we do, everything else becomes clear.
Prayer
God, thank you for the privilege of serving you! Help me to always ‘keep the main thing the main thing’, and not allow personal preferences or self-centered passion to distract me from the mission to which you’ve called me! May you be glorified in all that I do, so that souls would be saved, and hearts transformed for eternity by your Gospel!
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