Purpose and Passion

“Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Luke 12:11-12 (NKJV)

The company I work for has been following a continuous improvement process called CEO2.  One of the positive things to come from the process is that each employee was challenged to compose a statement that defines their “Purpose and Passion.”  When I did the exercise I created two statements.  I took both to the CEO2 trainer and said, “These two statements are very different.  The first has to do with my work in technology.  The other statement reflects my true passion.  Which do I choose?”  The trainer said that it was important that I choose the statement that accurately describes my true “Purpose and Passion.”  Here’s what I wrote:

“With integrity, intelligence, and passion I challenge myself and others to discover what God has revealed about Himself in His Word so that we can love Him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves.” 

One of the CEO2 practices that McKissock has adopted is that at the start of every meeting each participant must share their “Purpose and Passion” statement.  I love it!  It essentially means that I get a chance to be a witness for Christ (essentially sharing Luke 10:27) at every meeting where I’m a participant.  Recently I met with our COO/CFO and we started the meeting by sharing our “Purpose and Passion” statements.

That’s when I got a real surprise.

After I recited my P&P statement, the COO/CFO stopped me saying, “What I hear in your statement is your passion to be a preacher.  That’s great, but how does it apply to your work here at this company?”  He was quick to assure me that he wasn’t implying that I should leave the company because my passion doesn’t revolve around my work.  He was just curious how I applied my purpose and passion to my work on a daily basis.

What an amazing opportunity!

I asked him to imagine a circle divided into wedges (like a pie).  I explained that most people view their life this way – as a set of disconnected and isolated compartments.  One “wedge” is our work, another is our family, another is our hobbies, another is our faith, etc.

I shared that my perspective as a Christian is very different.  Jesus doesn’t want to simply occupy a “compartment” in our lives.  He doesn’t want to compete with other pursuits for our attention or be unrelated to other aspects of our lives.  Jesus wants (and deserves) to be at the center of our lives.  I then asked him to imagine the same circle, divided into wedges, but with a smaller circle in the center – touching each of the wedges in the “pie”.

I explained that I apply my “Purpose and Passion” by placing Jesus at the center of my life where He directly affects everything in my life, including my family, my work, my relationships with others, how I use my time, etc.  I was then able to give him a few specific examples of how I’ve tried to bring a Biblical perspective to my work by being a faithful employee, relating compassionately to my co-workers, acting with integrity, etc.

I’d been praying for an opportunity to share my faith with the COO/CFO, but I’m hesitant to do so on “company time.”  It was such a blessing when God provided the opportunity for me to share about my relationship with Him in response to my COO/CFO’s question.  It was the very opportunity that I’ve been praying for.  God is so good!