the assembly line, where different individuals did just one part of the job instead of each trying to complete the whole product, multiplied productivity many times over. As the assembly line was perfected, ten individuals working together did not just multiply their productivity by ten, but by a thousand times. This development is now credited with changing civilization more than any other single factor, and thrusting us into the modern age. Now, assembly line jobs may be more tedious, and we may be glad to see robots taking over most of them. That too is progress, but even if we are presently doing the most tedious, monotonous job, if we will do it like Michaelangelo painted, we will start to find great fulfillment in it. Again, it is possible to find greatness and fulfillment in anything we do.
If we do every job with that attitude, we will continue making upward progress toward even greater things. Even a cursory view of the world reveals that the more jobs which have been broken down into specialty fields, the more effective each job has become and the faster that field has advanced. You can see this in industry, science, medicine, and even sports.
Two hundred years ago the town barber was also the town surgeon. How many of us want to go back to that? Look how far surgery has come since they decided that it should become a specialty! Look at how much further it has come since the field of surgery began to specialize around the various organs of the body. If brain surgery is needed, you will have much more confidence in a neural surgeon than one who is a gifted plastic surgeon.
Basic biology teaches us that as soon as a living thing stops the process of growing, it begins the process of dying. Our goal must be continued advancement and growth which will almost always require continued specialization and focus. Many years ago I heard a Cuban refugee who had just moved to Atlanta say, “I really appreciate those huge road signs that tell you which way to get to Interstate 85, but I appreciate even more those little signs that let you know that you are still on Interstate 85!” It is good to find out the general field to which we are called, or to see the big sign that tells us the way to the road we want to be on. However, it is also important to recognize the little signs along the way that let us know we are still on the right path.
Again, a primary sign that we are still on the right path is for us to be growing in love with what we are doing. The big sign that points to the path that you should be on will usually be great love that is first felt for your vocation or venture. This love should point you in the right direction. Ancient mystics called this the “first love.” This is what a man and woman first feel for one another that leads to marriage. However, love changes in a marriage. The great passion we know at first changes into something that may be less fiery but can become deeper and more fulfilling.
A superficial person will sometimes view the lessening of the fiery passion of first love as a loss of love, but it is intended to be the beginning of an even deeper relationship. The same is usually true of our vocation. The goal should not be to keep the first passion going but to keep on the path of love. If we stay on the path, there will be times of great fiery passion, but we cannot expect that every day, and we probably could not survive it if we did.
Passion is just one aspect of love, and it is important, but the little signs along the way are just as crucial.
Rick Joyner is the founder and leader of MorningStar Ministries and is an internationally recognized speaker and author.
