Is it a passion or is it idolatry?

A wise person once said that an educator's job is not to offer all the answers, but to help their students ask better questions. Today, I'm asking you to help me ask better questions as I grapple with a difficult concept.

Is it a passion or is it idolatry?

I imagine most people have a passion for a few things in life – whether it be a fulfilling career, a particular talent, a worthy cause, or even a treasured collection. I also trust most of us believe that any passion, no matter how noble, needs boundaries so as to keep our intentions pure, our perspectives clear, and our relationships healthy.

Yet, we all know (or at least suspect) that someone we love has inadvertently crossed the line from passionate advocate to idolatrous proponent. But when, when does that happen? When does a passion become idolatry? How do we know when we've crossed the line? What questions can we ask ourselves to discern if a once healthy passion has now become a destructive idol?

Here are a few questions I've come up with today. I would like your help with discovering more.

Has our concern for our passion superseded our concern for the well-being of others? In other words, have we chosen to not love our neighbors as ourselves?

Do we assume our passion is “God-given,” but differing passions do not have the same seal of approval? In other words, are we tempted to use the Lord's name (in vain) to validate our position and invalidate others?

Has the expression of our passion encouraged productive conversation or do we express our opinions solely for the immediate gratification of “likes” and “Amens”? In other words, do we covet affirmation more than the truth?

Has advocacy for our passion tempted us to misrepresent the narrative or the character of another in order to discredit their point of view and undermine understanding? In other words, are we guilty of bearing false witness?

How would we respond if whatever we are passionate about was suddenly ripped from our grasp? Would life still hold meaning? In other words, does our hope rest in what we can hold and possess or does it rest in something less tangible and more eternal?

These are the questions I am wrestling with today. And probably will for many days to come. What about you? What better questions could you help me to ask?