Priority and Passion

Each of us has priorities and passions in life. Do you know what yours are? It really isn't that difficult to determine. Priorities are those things you intentionally take time for. You recognize them as items that are important and you make sure that you include them in your agenda.

For some your job is a priortiy. You realize that you have to have the job and the income it provides, therefore when the alarm clock goes off you get up out of bed and begin preparing to go to work. For others, family is a priority. You recongnize that you are given a responsibility to provide for them and care for them so you do the best you can each day. For some, God is a priority. You have been taught how important it is to recognize God in some way, so in some form or fashion He has become a priority for you.

I can make an argument that each of these mentioned above should be a priority for you. You should be faithful in your vocation. Your family should be provided for and cared for. And certainly God deserves to be the ultimate priority in your life.

What I hope you will see; however, is that there is something that must be connected to priority for you to experience real success in life, and that is passion. Priority means you know something is supposed to be important to you, passion means something really is important to you. Can you see the difference?

When you are passionate about your job you see it as your calling and you realize that as you go to "work" you are a living testimony to the calling that has been placed on your life. It doesn't matter if you are a doctor, lawyer, architect, engineer, sanitation department worker, or school teacher; you have a deep, burning desire to do what you do because it is a passion for you.

When you are passionate about your family you want to be with them. You realize that you have been divinely placed in your position within the family to have a positive influence on each member. You love them, not because you are supposed to love them but because you can't help yourself from loving them. You find yourself thinking about them and praying for them regularly.

The difference between a person who simply says "God is a priority in my life" and someone who says "God is my priority in life and I am passionate about Him," is that one typically acts out of religion and the other typically acts out of relationship. When you are passionate about God you are overwhelmed with a deep love for Him. You are drawn to Him and have such a desire to be with Him that nothing can keep you from loving Him, praising Him, and being in His presence. When you are passionate about God it will be evident in all you do.

So live with both priorities and passions! You need both to truly experience the success you were created to enjoy!