A Tale of Two Passions
1. Recently on “Chopped,” a cooking show that pits culinary artists against each other in a competition to find the top chef, one of the contestants related the high cost of becoming an exceptional chef. He recounted a realization he’d had early on: he would not be able to achieve greatness in his career and succeed in his marriage. One would have to go. Well… she did.
2. Every week, this NFL quarterback picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster’s), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts. Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat. This whole thing makes no football sense, of course. Most NFL players hardly talk to teammates before a game, much less visit with the sick and dying. Isn’t that a huge distraction? “Just the opposite,” says Tim Tebow. “It’s by far the best thing I do to get myself ready. Here you are, about to play a game that the world says is the most important thing in the world. Win and they praise you. Lose and they crush you. And here I have a chance to talk to the coolest, most courageous people. It puts it all into perspective. The game doesn’t really matter. I mean, I’ll give 100 percent of my heart to win it, but in the end, the thing I most want to do is not win championships or make a lot of money, it’s to invest in people’s lives, to make a difference.” *
These two passions bring Jesus’ words into sharp focus: “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” #
May the Lord empower each of your noblest passions today, and may He give you discernment to know which ones are not worthy of Him.
Blessings,
