Been listening to the Mosaic poscast
I have about 14 months worth of Mosaic podcasts that I've downloaded but never listened to. Busy with work, phone calls -- life. I recently started listening to them, and haven't stopped for about three days. Every free minute I listen. GREAT messages. I'd forgotten how much I love McManus, and, in a way, how much I love Jesus.
Here's a great quote, and the reason I've posted this message (the context is Jonah & apathy -- remember this is a podcast and spoken, so this is conversational English and not grammatically correct):
I wonder how many of us are living in the belly of a whale. We are just letting life happen to us because we've given up on MAKING life happen. We are just letting the future come at us because we've given up on creating the future. See, you were designed by God to lean to into the future -- to BECOME -- to be an agent of CREATING the future. But when you give up on the future, you give up on life -- you just move into apathy and you lose your passion.
See, sometimes a part of the painful process is that we discover that the things we are passionate about we're not talented for. You ever had that discovery? I know we're not supposed to say that -- whatever you are passionate about you're supposed to be able to have the talent to do -- but that's just not true. See there are some things that you will be passionate about -- that you'll just love, just wish you could do -- but you were just not given the talent to do it -- just like me.
You know what that passion is supposed to do? It's not supposed to misdirect us on a false destiny, it's supposed to give us an appreciation for the gifting and talents of others. So you just say, "Wow, I could never do that!" And you're supposed to CELEBRATE that someone else is uniquely gifted and created to be able to do that -- that's how we can learn to enjoy each other! See, not everything you are passionate about you're going to be talented for, and so sometimes you're supposed to say, "I'm passionate, and that means I'm supposed to appreciate and enjoy it."
And then there are other things you are actually talented for but not passionate about. And some of you are trapped in that life. You were in 2nd grade and you were great at math. And so your Mom and Dad said, "You're going to be an engineer." You thought an engineer was the guy who drove a train! So you said, "Toot! Yeah! I'd love that!" You didn't know it meant you were going to be an "engineer".
And now you are one. And you are miserable. I talk to people all the time, successful people -- engineers, architects, lawyers, doctors, business people who hate their life and they are GREAT at it!
Not great at hating it. Ahh, actually they're pretty good at that too.
I wonder if you are here, and you are living the composite of all your parents and all your peers and all the people who spoke into your life what they saw for you and you were talented at it so your talents affirmed THEIR decision for your life, but you're passions have never affirmed it.
And so you are working in an office, and you're looking at a computer and you are great at your job, but you just wish you could teach 8 year old third graders and watch their lives develop and their minds unlock. "But, well, that's just not practical."
Or maybe you just moved into a 'slush fund' job -- "I really didn't know what to do, so I decided to do this." And so you go become a teacher, because "they need them." You have no interest or passion investing in people's lives.
And your students? They'll never appreciate geography again because of your contribution to their life.
But, you know, it's a job. It's a job, right?
And, maybe you need to look at your life and wonder and examine if you've moved to the Dark Side of Destiny where you've moved into Apathy and you've accepted your life because you haven't taken charge of it in that sense.
Good stuff! McManus rocks.
Dale
Here's a great quote, and the reason I've posted this message (the context is Jonah & apathy -- remember this is a podcast and spoken, so this is conversational English and not grammatically correct):
I wonder how many of us are living in the belly of a whale. We are just letting life happen to us because we've given up on MAKING life happen. We are just letting the future come at us because we've given up on creating the future. See, you were designed by God to lean to into the future -- to BECOME -- to be an agent of CREATING the future. But when you give up on the future, you give up on life -- you just move into apathy and you lose your passion.
See, sometimes a part of the painful process is that we discover that the things we are passionate about we're not talented for. You ever had that discovery? I know we're not supposed to say that -- whatever you are passionate about you're supposed to be able to have the talent to do -- but that's just not true. See there are some things that you will be passionate about -- that you'll just love, just wish you could do -- but you were just not given the talent to do it -- just like me.
You know what that passion is supposed to do? It's not supposed to misdirect us on a false destiny, it's supposed to give us an appreciation for the gifting and talents of others. So you just say, "Wow, I could never do that!" And you're supposed to CELEBRATE that someone else is uniquely gifted and created to be able to do that -- that's how we can learn to enjoy each other! See, not everything you are passionate about you're going to be talented for, and so sometimes you're supposed to say, "I'm passionate, and that means I'm supposed to appreciate and enjoy it."
And then there are other things you are actually talented for but not passionate about. And some of you are trapped in that life. You were in 2nd grade and you were great at math. And so your Mom and Dad said, "You're going to be an engineer." You thought an engineer was the guy who drove a train! So you said, "Toot! Yeah! I'd love that!" You didn't know it meant you were going to be an "engineer".
And now you are one. And you are miserable. I talk to people all the time, successful people -- engineers, architects, lawyers, doctors, business people who hate their life and they are GREAT at it!
Not great at hating it. Ahh, actually they're pretty good at that too.
I wonder if you are here, and you are living the composite of all your parents and all your peers and all the people who spoke into your life what they saw for you and you were talented at it so your talents affirmed THEIR decision for your life, but you're passions have never affirmed it.
And so you are working in an office, and you're looking at a computer and you are great at your job, but you just wish you could teach 8 year old third graders and watch their lives develop and their minds unlock. "But, well, that's just not practical."
Or maybe you just moved into a 'slush fund' job -- "I really didn't know what to do, so I decided to do this." And so you go become a teacher, because "they need them." You have no interest or passion investing in people's lives.
And your students? They'll never appreciate geography again because of your contribution to their life.
But, you know, it's a job. It's a job, right?
And, maybe you need to look at your life and wonder and examine if you've moved to the Dark Side of Destiny where you've moved into Apathy and you've accepted your life because you haven't taken charge of it in that sense.
Good stuff! McManus rocks.
Dale
posted by Wealthedge at 2:10 PM
1 Comments:
Yeah, Dale, this has kinda been my life. My mom was a teacher, and I liked kids, so I thought, "I'll be a teacher." Only then I found out that despite the fact that I was good at it, I really HATED it! I heard clearly from God in the fall of 1999, "You know, you don't have to do this. Just because your degree is in teaching, doesn't mean you have to go in that direction." It was a defining moment for me. I started working as an admin and discovered that I LOVED it! Is my degree being wasted? No way! Education of ANY sort (can anyone say CHEMISTRY?) is NEVER wasted. You use whatever to do whatever. I've just been blessed to discover what my "whatever" was before I was so invested in another career that I couldn't get out. And you know, I'm still not completely sure that I know what I want to be when I grow up, but I am certain that God knows, and I am letting Him direct. His desire is good enough for me!
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