Many things in life don’t matter in the long run. And we don’t need a fiercely held conviction on every issue. There are many times we can simply go with the flow. But there is also a time to be driven and not simply let life happen to us.
To be sure, every battle is not ours to fight or even worth fighting. There is wisdom in being able to yield to others and not always push our agenda.
But we become passive and ineffective when we simply drift through life.
To be driven is to have things we’re passionately pursuing ourselves. This might come through our work, personal interests, or social convictions, for instance. But whatever it looks like, we bring a certain zeal to making things happen and bringing more life and goodness into the world.
As such, we gain the respect of others as we also increase our confidence to accomplish the things our faith prompts us to do.
On the other hand, we tend to lose respect and allow for more chaos to reign when there’s nothing passionately driving us.
For example, part of having a thriving marriage starts with the desire and drive to build one. Our wife loses respect for us and we allow our marriage to deteriorate whenever there’s no longer a passionate drive to discover the more.
Of course, this can play out in the rest of life as well. Without some passion and drive for life we become mere drifters – pawns in someone else’s agenda, but without the inner strength to make an impact for good ourselves. In short, we become like tasteless salt or light hidden under a basket.
By all means, go with the flow when the issues don’t matter in the long run. But discover also your inner drive to make things happen and to bring more life and love into the world.
Photo by Jonny Kennaugh on Unsplash
