Good Passion Versus Bad Passion

It all started with thoughts about passion; you know, good passion versus bad passion.

Psalm 73:25-26, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

TOMORROW

Annie sings that the sun will come out tomorrow; Tomorrow clears the cobwebs and the sorrow. Tomorrow we can start with a blank canvas and paint a new picture of our life. Tomorrow we can erase the errors of today and start over.

The Beatles sing about Yesterday that our troubles seemed so far away, but they’re here to stay. “I’m not the half the man I used to be.” The Beatles remind us of our regrets that we might improve our future.

Kaki Kings, the musician at a TedTalks convention, states that time runs endlessly for eternity backward and forward, making this moment seem insignificant. But the reality is that this moment is the most critical in our life; at this moment. So, all we have is to make this moment the most significant moment of all moments.

U2’s song Tomorrow, Bon Jovi sings, “Will you be back tomorrow? Open up, open up to the lamb of God. To the love of he who made the blind to see. He’s coming back.”

My arrogance, and maybe your arrogance, is that we might be granted a tomorrow. I go to sleep each night, asking for forgiveness of my transgressions and listing what I need help with tomorrow. I talk about friends that I need to reach out to because they suffer. I speak about deeds I will do for those in need. I ask for wisdom and discernment for the decisions ahead. I assume that God will grace me with one more day on this earth.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

What if that was my last prayer here on earth; what if I did not see another tomorrow this side of heaven? What if that very night I met God face-to-face? Would I have regrets? Would I have deeds undone? Would I want one more day?

TODAY

Colossians 3:5, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

God continues to give us these two-edged swords; passion is one of them. Earthly passion can drive us to destructive behaviors. It is not just the passion to have more, be more and experience more. It sometimes is the passion to present ourselves perfect to the world around us. Earthly passion can disguise itself as a virtue. It feeds upon pride to puff us up. Worldly passion can make us feel superior to others because we care more. Earthly desire can cause us to be addicted to behaviors that do not glorify God but glorify ourselves. Worldly passion assumes there will be many tomorrows. Without tomorrow’s, earthly desire loses its meaning. Worldly passion feeds on the expectation of tomorrow.

Ephesians 1:4, “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

Spiritual passion feeds on eternity. Spiritual passion assumes that time here will end. Spiritual passion prepares us for when earthly tomorrows finish. We can do things that others might see as worldly passion, but our drive is different. For example: do we exercise to look good and feel good, or do we exercise so that we are prepared to do God’s will? Do we seek education to advance our future or to use it to glorify God? Spiritual passion is redirecting our worldly desire to glorify God.

Colossians 1:16–17, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

We may not be graced with another day; did we live today with that in mind? Chasing the passion God put within us at creation is about living each day to its fullest. It is acknowledging God is sovereign over all; he created all things for His glory. Therefore, everything we do is an act of worship to Him. What did your worship look like today?

1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

In our trials, did we focus on ourselves, or did we take the opportunity to glorify God, knowing that God will not give us more than we can handle? Did we find good in those who sought to harm us? Did we acknowledge God’s presence in everything we did?

Romans 8:28, “And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, to them that are called according to his purpose.”

FOREVER

I love what Kaki King said because it reminds me that every moment counts. There are no insignificant moments in our lives, even though the totality of our lives may seem trivial compared to eternity. Moments make up eternity, each one extremely important.

We get momentary pleasure for worldly passion. It is a temptation that is hard to pass up. We can start to believe that living in the moment is not harmful to our existence in eternity. But it is every moment that eventually adds up to eternity. So, God counts everyone as important.

Live this day, this moment, as if you might stand before God before tomorrow.

James 1:17-20, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”