Passion: Past or Private

Passion – a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.

What are you passionate about? Write down five things you have a passion for (you’re on a computer, so you’ve got Notepad or Wordpad), in order of most passionate to least passionate. Be honest with yourself; no one’s going to see this but you. Once you’ve got your list, locate which item is most related to your worship or desire for God. If it’s not number one, there’s a problem. But you’re not alone.

Here’s my list: 1) Relationships, 2) web design, 3) worship, 4) music, and 5) movies.

Being passionate about the things of God or our worship can be challenging, especially in a society that devalues the sanctity of marriage (and intimacy of sex), discredits the Bible and the existence of God, and where dating someone is as long and frequent as the weekly high school football game. Even in the midst of this culture we can still claim passion exists, but only in the private sector, where we are alone, locked in our closet. We all have passion; we were made in God’s image, and believe me, God is definitely passionate. But passion without boldness is a controlled flow of energy; true passion bursts into our lives constantly. The key is widening the hole in the dam that is holding back our passion, and letting it eat away at the barrier we have set up.

We’ve all suffered pain in our lives: loved someone who mistreated us, helped someone who stole from us, trusted someone who lied to us…and that pain has created a callous, cautioned you to be careful in how you express your passion. I’m sorry, I really am, but walk with me: before that person you trusted hurt you (or you became aware of their betrayal), all the memories you have were good ones, or at least the good times outnumbered the bad, right? I do hope so. With my best friend, that was true. (A personal experience.) Or, if you’re not suffering from past pain, the society’s pressure upon all of us to restrain ourselves when in public may have gradually driven you to imprison your passion. There is a solution for both cases, of which I will try to explain in not so many words. But first, I’d like to give a real-life example of a friend of mine.

I’ve known Brittany for most of my life; we met when her family started attending my old church. She’s a bright girl, with lots of dreams and desires and passion; a really great girl that I’m glad to be friends with. We were talking online on AIM a few months ago, and I was sharing with her how God had blessed me with ability of understanding what makes people tick, which can lead to revealing a “front” or “persona” that the person sets up in hopes of concealing something about their character, even if it’s not something to be ashamed of. Brittany was a bit skeptical, so she challenged me to describe her “front” to her with the hope of removing it. After some discussion, we identified that she is very passionate, but when in public, especially in a worship service, she is shy, hesitant to dance and lift her hands in praise to God. We discussed (a picture of a psychiatrist’s office was in my mind, no joke it was cool; no offense to Brittany) solutions to breaking the bottleneck of passion in her life and how to avoid it from developing again. I suggested that before the worship service she read a favorite passage of scripture, a verse that reminded her of who God is and what He’s done for her (I choose Psalm 97:1-6), and to pray beforehand. She promised to do that, and to update me about her progress the following week (again, pyschiatrist’s office). She came to me and said that the past Sunday had been amazing, that she was able to really find herself in a worship mindset; she lifted her hands and danced (quite literally) in worship to God. How amazing! Love you, Brittany!

So how can you pop the cork of the bottle of passion in your life? Well obviously it varies depending on each person’s situation and experience, but the general process is to identify and debunk any and all reasons for constraining your passion. For Brittany, it was the pressure of society to be “normal” that kept her from breaking out in ecstatic worship in public. For Brittany, I showed her how the people she feared were the people she probably trusted the most; they were people she had grown up with. On top of that, they were Christians, and no young-aged Christian would (or should) ever criticize another young, teenaged Christian for their worship style. Never. Brittany understood, and the cork was popped. The passion bubbled over into her public life, and she’s loved it since.

There are many resources and books available that discuss passion and emotions. A book that I’m currently reading and am enjoying very much is called “Feel” by Matthew Elliot. There are several resources available at faithfulfeelings.com, like a blog and a study guide. I would highly encourage you to purchase and read this book if you are serious about letting loose your passion. The book addresses emotions in general, but passion is a vital part to the existence of emotions. Feel criticizes the church’s teaching of emotions being wild and dangerous and indirectly causing people to bottle up all of their emotions, which is unhealthy and ungodly. Really a great book, helped me understand emotions and their purpose in our lives.

I hoped this helped you guys or encouraged you to jailbreak your passion. It’s in there, just let it out, and live your life full of passion, energy, and joy for God. To those of you who have learned how to remove the barriers constraining your passion, encourage your friends to do the same; help them understand how God deserves their passion. If not and you would like or need specific, personal help, please feel free to contact me. Your privacy will be respected and your situation confidential. I’m Your Bro.