I can’t tell you have many times I have heard people say, “Wow, look at that person; they are so driven.” Society has come to think that being driven is a good thing. Those who are driven get all kinds of things accomplished, turn around companies and organizations, and achieve much success. On the surface, it seems like someone who is driven is someone to be emulated. However, Gordon MacDonald points out that a driven person has certain negative characteristics that can cause harm. Here are some of those characteristics:
- A driven person is most often gratified only by accomplishment.
- A driven person is preoccupied with the symbols of accomplishment.
- A driven person is usually caught in the uncontrolled pursuit of expansion.
- Driven people tend to have a limited regard for integrity.
- Driven people often possess limited or undeveloped people skills.
- Driven people tend to be highly competitive.
- A driven person often possesses a volcanic force of anger which can erupt any time he senses opposition or disloyalty.
- Driven people are usually abnormally busy.[1]
Do you see yourself having any of these characteristics? Do you know people who are driven?
One of the people in Scripture who was a driven person was King Saul. If you compare his life (1 Samuel 10-31) to each of those characteristics, you will see that as Saul got older, especially as he saw his kingdom slipping from his grasp, he became increasingly more obsessed often to the detriment of others. Even outside of Scripture, I have seen numerous individuals who are so driven that they leave shattered lives in their wake.
I would like to submit to you that a better, more spiritual way to live than being driven is being called. Those who are called sense a bigger purpose for their lives than just mere success. Instead, they recognize that God longs to have them live out His plan for their lives. Those who are called realize that their entire purpose comes from the Creator Himself and that their lives are all about living out that calling day by day.
As you look at the ministry of Jesus, He did not live life as a driven person (even though His ministry was only about 3 ½ years). Instead He lived as a called person. He knew who He was and what He came to do. Each and every day of His life, He lived out that calling His Heavenly Father had given Him. Then when He picked His disciples, He didn’t just settle for volunteers (though there is some debate about Judas volunteering), He called twelve men to live out their purpose for the Kingdom. Interestingly enough, as you look at the disciples, many of them were driven before they met Jesus. But as they spent time with and began emulating Jesus, they no longer lived as driven men but as called men.
The rest of this month, we will be unpacking what it means to live as a called man. Let me give you a preview. A called man is one who:
- Understands who he was created to be
- Understands he is to live out God’s plan for his life instead of his own
- Lives with a sense of peace, joy, and contentment.
As you look at the dichotomy between the life of Saul and the life of Jesus, living life as a man who is called seems to be the better choice.
Conversation:
- What characteristics of a driven man do you see in yourself?
- What characteristics of a called man do you see in yourself?
[1] Gordon MacDonald, Ordering Your Private World, pp. 33-37
Recommended Book
Few spiritual concepts have fascinated and confused people more than understanding God’s calling for their life. Is it primarily about a job or a role? It is precise or general? Is a calling only reserved for those who work in professional ministry?
The truth is actually amazingly profound: What we are supposed to do is what we most want to do.
This is a guide for discovering God’s design and destiny for your life. Drawing from over 20 years of experience in ministry, Gary Barkalow shares how you can:
Live alert and oriented to the voice and choreography of God.
Discover and interpret the voice of your own story.
Discern the strategic assault against your calling.
Recognize God’s intentional training in your life’s journey.
Most of all, you’ll be inspired to let the glory of your life touch the world around you