{"id":7584,"date":"2014-05-01T16:38:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-01T04:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.tandem.org.nz\/student-life\/?p=7584"},"modified":"2024-07-18T17:59:39","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T05:59:39","slug":"pursuing-your-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentlife.org.nz\/2014\/05\/01\/pursuing-your-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Pursuing Your Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I tell people I\u2019m writing a novel, I\u2019m met with either wry smiles or wide-eyed bewilderment, followed by the question, \u201cWhy not become a teacher or a journalist?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s so common that I pre-empt the response. To be honest, I\u2019m that not passionate about teaching, and the stories I want to tell aren\u2019t the type that we hear every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, what people ask me isn\u2019t truly<\/em> about journalism or teaching; it\u2019s about money \u2013 money and security. \u201cWhy invest so much time writing a novel when you could be earning money teaching English or reporting for the New Zealand Herald?\u201d My aspirations are being questioned because they seem unrealistic. Why take a risk when other career choices are so much more secure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If money and stability came packaged with fulfilment, maybe I\u2019d change my mind. After all, besides God, money is the next best thing, right? Except\u2026 money, in essence, is nothing more than paper and metal. It\u2019s a tool, like staples and toothpicks. Money has its uses, but surely it\u2019s better to pursue God than to pursue toothpicks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strange, then, that even Christians don\u2019t take me seriously. \u201cAlas,\u201d they say, \u201cyou\u2019re one man among seven billion. What hope do you have of publishing a book?\u201d Well, for one, I have the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n

Pursuing your dreams by trusting God<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25<\/a> shows us that the talents we\u2019ve been given are, by nature, the talents we\u2019ve been called to pursue. It follows that, if writing is a talent I\u2019ve been given, then it isn\u2019t a risk to pursue it; it\u2019s a responsibility \u2013 and a privilege. Therefore, since following this passion will be honouring to God, God will not only give me everything I need to pursue it, he\u2019ll also make the attempt worthwhile. In short, if God can\u2019t turn a risk into a reward, I don\u2019t know what good toothpicks will do me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going against the grain isn\u2019t always easy, however. I\u2019m frequently pressured to question why I\u2019m spending my time writing fiction when I could be saving for, say, a house. And, despite Jesus\u2019s instructions, doubts still come and go, and motivations ebb and flow like the tide. Yet, every time that I\u2019ve dabbled at the idea of shifting course, God has reminded me that I was never at a fork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a drought of motivation early last month, I asked God to strengthen my enthusiasm to write and to read. I told him that, if writing is truly a talent of mine, then I need to invest in it; and to invest in it fully, I need more enthusiasm. He answered my prayer within days. Since then, I\u2019ve never been more certain that completing my novel is exactly what I should be doing, and the only way to keep up momentum is to work at it full-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For you, your passion might be as fundamental as giving, as colourful as painting, or something less obvious, like public speaking. In the light of this parable, the question I ask myself becomes rhetorical. Why opt for a career I won\u2019t enjoy when the one I adore starts with the pen and paper on my desk?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus calls us to be humble (Matthew 18:2-4<\/a>), but an implicit Christian worldview whispers the idea that living in humility rules out having ambition. This worldview couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. If you\u2019ve discovered a passion, and if this passion is God-given (you know it\u2019s God-given if it exists and it doesn\u2019t go against God\u2019s values), then you can be sure that pursuing it will honour God, and that he will bless you for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doubts and fears cloud our ambitions; but if you take a moment, you\u2019ll realise that the people who become successful, whether for righteous reasons or otherwise, are those who believe <\/em>they can be<\/em> successful \u2013 that is, those whose ambitions aren\u2019t obscured by doubts. As Christians, we have an extra incentive to believe, namely a relationship with the Creator of the universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attaining financial security is as useful as building a mountain of toothpicks; pursuing divine fulfilment is infinitely more worthwhile, but it can only begin by following the passions that God has placed in your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Matthew Ferri<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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