What is your passion?

As a youth minister, I would talk to all sorts of personality types. Some would be considered very shy or quiet. These I would take my time to get to know them. Sometimes it required uncomfortable silences while I asked them various questions. I did consider it my knack to pick up a conversation with just about anyone. The trick I discovered was finding that one thing they felt most passionate about and then genuinely listen to them talk about it. Sometimes I would be surprised at how an otherwise quiet person became suddenly very talkative and excited. They found someone else who shared an interest (or at least was willing to listen) to what they too were interested in.
Some people are passionate about sports, and can rattle off all sorts of numbers and stats that portray their favourite team in the best light. I'm amazed at the dedicated fans of a sports team even though it may have been 50 years since they've had a successful season. I, personally, have never really kept an interest in sports. I will watch the Superbowl or the World Cup with some friends. For the most part, I can leave it behind.
This post was almost titled, "What are you known for?" But I just didn't like how that flowed. Somehow, among my friends, I've been known as the gadget-geek. If someone were to buy a new laptop or camera, they would come to me asking what product I thought they should buy. I'm not exactly sure how I earned that monicker though. Maybe it was because that is what I talked about a lot, inadvertently. In fact, I used to research a lot about the newest products coming out. I still keep an ear out when Apple does a developer's conference or event for the press keynote. It's my version of the Superbowl. But now, I'm trying to change. Although learning about gadgets isn't in itself bad, it is a distraction from other things I could be doing.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." -Hebrews 12:1(NIV)

The commonwealth games is currently going on (or at least it was). If you were to see the sprinters line up and get ready for the 100m run, you would observe the following. They wear the lightest possible clothing and shoes that weigh like a feather. You don't see them strapping on their cellphones and mp3 players just before the race. They leave everything aside, apart from the necessary things to keep them decent and their feet protected. Likewise, if we are to run an effective race, we should aim to throw off everything that is hindering our progress.
What I think is interesting is when Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John. After Jesus had just assisted them in making the greatest catch in history, Jesus tells them simply, "Follow me." and their reaction is surprising:

"So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him."
-Luke 5:11(NIV)

They leave EVERYTHING behind. They left the boats. They left biggest catch of fish anyone had ever seen (which would have fetch a wealthy profit). They left the business. They left their families. Everything. A similar thing happens 16 verses later:

"After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him." -Luke 5:27(NIV)

And yet there were a couple of other times when Jesus had offered the opportunity to follow him:

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. -Luke 9:57-10:1(NIV)

They missed out on a great opportunity, because they showed hesitation. Granted the things they wanted to go about and do were not bad things in themselves... it just wasn't pertinent compared to following Christ.
And later on when Jesus approached a rich young man:

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”-Luke 18:22(NIV)

Okay, let me go ahead and say... I do not plan on leaving my family behind. That should alleviate any worries by my wife. But it does make me think about the other things that serve as distractions in my life. I never really thought about the Parable of the Sower before in this light, but did you realise that three out of the four soils produced a plant, but only one fully matured and multiplied it's crop. The one that concerns me most is this one though:

"The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature."-Luke 8:14(NIV)

I think it might be time to do a little weeding in my garden. So my aim the past couple of weeks has been to try and eliminate the frivolous things that waste my time. I've become knowledgable of several things in my life so far. But each time that I've learned it competently, I get bored with it. There's only been one thing that has kept my interest and I keep going back to it. I hope that my sole purpose and passion can be to seek knowledge of God and glorify Him.