Three Roles That Passion Plays

CBF Biblical Leadership Principle for the Month of May 2022

The nature of your business makes your purpose evident. However, purpose without passion lacks energy and fire. Passion without purpose lacks focus and direction. Passion is the energy of your soul. So, what is passion? Passion is “Intense emotion compelling action. A strong devotion to some object, activity, or concept.”

Passion plays three important roles in our lives as evidenced by looking at the life and words of the Apostle Paul. Passion has Purpose, Priority and Power!

1. Passion Has Purpose
Passion must have a purpose to give focus and direction to the energy it expends. Moreover, that purpose must represent a commitment to deeply held core beliefs.

God, who loves us passionately, has created and designed each of us for His purpose. Therefore, he is influencing your will and your behaviours so that He can see His purposes fulfilled:

For it is God who works in you to will and to act
in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Phil 2:13

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work
in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

Paul wonderfully articulated his sole purpose, which was the driving force and energy behind his life-long passion:

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward
what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize
for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Phil 3:13,14

What core beliefs comprise your purpose
to which you give your passion?

2. Passion Has Priority
Passion also determines what is a priority for you. Paul states that God’s priority is for our good and is meant to conform us to the image of His Son.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Romans 8:28,29

Paul says that knowing Christ is such a priority to him that it displaces all else. From his perspective, no matter what he has gained (and was well accomplished), he would reduce its value to garbage if it got in the way of him knowing Christ.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.
I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.
Phil 3:7,8

How does your passion align
with God’s passion for you?

3. Passion Has Power
Passion has power because of the energy we invest in it. It’s amazing how much power can be exercised when a person is sold-out and passionate about a cause. For example, Paul endured far more than most of us for the gospel because of his passion.

As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way:
in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;
in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work,
sleepless nights and hunger.
2 Corinthians 6:4,5

Understanding the source of your passion gives fresh power and perspective to handle the trials and difficulties in life. Paul expresses this well when he said to the Corinthians:

Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary
troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since
what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16 -18

Reflect on an incidence in your life when you
could sense power rising up from within you
over a cause for which you were passionate.

Passion focused and directed on a specific purpose will clarify your priorities and produce a power and energy to accomplish great things for God.

Don Moore
Executive Director Canadian Christian Business Federation
Don strongly believes that people are our nation’s most valuable asset. His Listen-Learn-Lead” approach to leadership has made him highly effective in executive roles in a variety of organizations with local, regional, national, and international reach.

An entrepreneurial thinker and strategist, Don built a grassroots movement of denominational and ministry leaders committed to evangelism with The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) and led a National Consultation in Ottawa.

Canadian Christian Business Federation
Email: don@ccbf.org
5792 Eighth Line East
Ariss, ON N0B 1B0
416-725-5586
https://www.ccbf.org