Pain to Peace: A Man's Path Past PitfallsSample

Day 2: The Passion Trap - When Good Things Become God Things

Scripture: Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Passions aren't evil—they're gifts from God that make life worth living. The problem comes when our hobbies, dreams, or interests start driving the bus instead of riding in the passenger seat. I learned this lesson the hard way when I became obsessed with perfecting my preaching style. What started as wanting to serve God better turned into feeding my own ego. I was spending more time practicing sermon delivery than actually listening to what God wanted to say.

Solomon figured this out too, but he had to chase every passion under the sun first. The guy had it all—power, wealth, women, wisdom, the works—and concluded it was all "meaningless" without God at the center. That's not pessimism; that's reality. When our passions eclipse our purpose, we end up empty-handed every time.

I watched this play out with a friend who loved restoring classic cars. Nothing wrong with that—it's actually pretty cool. But somewhere along the way, his garage became his temple and Saturday became his sabbath. He missed his kid's school play because he was working on a '67 Mustang. When his son asked why the car was more important than he was, my friend realized his passion had become his prison.

The fix isn't to kill your passions—it's to align them with God's heart. Matthew 22:37-39 gives us the roadmap: love God first, then love people. When we get that order right, our passions become tools for connection instead of walls that separate us from what matters most.

Your Move: Make a list of your top three passions—the things that really get your motor running. Then honestly ask yourself: do any of these take priority over loving God or loving people in your life? Pick one way today to use a passion to connect with God or serve someone else. Maybe teach your kid something you love, or find a way to use your interest to help a neighbor.