Compelling Interests

[Read time: 10 minutes] Recognizing your natural aptitudes or spiritual gifts is an important step in finding your purpose in life, making a significant contribution to your world, and achieving personal fulfillment. When you discover how your personality tendencies support your aptitudes, you rise to a higher level of effectiveness and satisfaction. Then there is a third factor to consider that can really energize you and help you operate at your peak: your compelling interests.

A compelling interest is a subject or issue that you enjoy thinking about, that tends to preoccupy your thinking in your spare time. It is something you feel drawn to, that you enjoy being involved in and talking about, a passion. In effect, it is a focus of your attention and energies. It is a “compelling” interest because it compels you to act. It is much more than a casual interest because it motivates you to do something. There is nothing passive about it.

Identifying your compelling interest can have great value because it helps define the environment in which you enjoy using your aptitudes. It shows where you are likely to be most effective and fulfilled.

If you can accept the possibility that God gave you your aptitudes and tendencies for a reason, then it should be easy to believe He gave you your compelling interests, too. Could God determine your interests and would He do so? Consider the following scriptures. “The Lord works out everything for his own end” (Prov. 16:4). “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:11). “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). That third verse uses a Greek word from which we get our word “synergy,” so the verse says that God makes the combined results of our experiences beneficial to us.

Notice that all these verses say “everything” or “all things;” that includes both pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Because your life experiences help form your interests, it is easy to see that God could use them to shape and direct your interests. Would He do so? If so, why?

The verses quoted earlier relate very strongly to predestination and the fulfillment of God’s plan. Consider one way God might predestine a person’s life while honoring his free will.

Assume that God’s plan calls for a certain person to show believers how to find their purposes in life and actively fulfill their specific roles in God’s kingdom. God might give that person the aptitude of teaching so he can research a subject and show others what he learned; administration to organize his thoughts and present them systematically; and prophetic insight to see how God’s kingdom should operate on earth.

Now God could give him a mix of tendencies that support his aptitudes. He might make him introverted so he would be comfortable spending time alone researching and contemplating. He also might give him a diagnostic mental style so he naturally tries to understand how things work and how they can be improved. He might make him slightly pessimistic so he can anticipate and identify problems. He could make ideas one of his priorities so he is very interested in concepts.

As this person grows up, he would not relate well to people and always be painfully aware of his differences. This would make him ponder why people are different, why they think and act as they do. His curiosity would lead him to read about personality types. His love for music and drawing and photography would help develop his creative nature. His struggles in the early years of his marriage often would be directly related to personality differences. He would struggle with his self worth because he was so radically different from the people he knew and did not seem to fit in anywhere.

His interest in what makes people tick, his diagnostic mental style, his ability to research, his ability to grasp and develop concepts, his creative ability to develop innovative ideas–all these led to a new concept: redeeming human character. This article series is one result of that process and I am that person. Did God equip me to fulfill my life purpose? Yes. Was I free to choose, to ponder, to research, to teach, and to write? Yes. Predestination and free will work together beautifully.

The Bible states repeatedly that God has a purpose for your life (see Phil. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9). “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). God created and formed you to perform the good works He prepared for you. The aptitudes, tendencies, and compelling interests He gave you are the equipment you need to do His will. He has assigned you a task, a role, or calling (see 1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 10:13; Heb. 12:1) and a place in life to which He has called you (1 Cor. 7:17).

This leads us to a very natural conclusion: God has equipped you and motivated you to fulfill His plan for your life. He also designed you to feel satisfied and fulfilled when you use your abilities effectively. Consequently, using your aptitudes, tendencies, and compelling interests–doing what you do best in the environment that interests you the most–is at least a partial fulfillment of God’s plan for your life. And doing God’s will can be the most effective, satisfying, and rewarding thing you can do.

Obviously, many experiences in life influence or even determine your life interests, and not all of those are from God. Not all of your interests are God-given and not all your reasons for being interested are godly. You very likely have God-given interests that have been corrupted by sin, so it may be helpful to consider whether one aspect of your ungodly interests may be God’s intent. He has given you interests compatible with His plan for your life to motivate you to fulfill His will. Sin has obscured or perverted those interests, as it has your character, but with God’s help you can identify the interests He gave you.

The personality problems you have are not the result of your basic character–your aptitudes, tendencies, and compelling interests–but of sin’s perversion of your character, making it self-centered. That is why you must actively redeem your character, changing the way you think (repenting) so you can begin functioning the way God intended. You don’t need to become someone else; you need to redeem who you are. That is why the articles in the following sections of this series describe basic traits, typical ways sin perverts those traits, and specific steps to redeem them.

Character trait assessment is important but has limited value if you do not know what to do with the information. Considering your compelling interests helps you identify the environment or situation in which you feel most fulfilled using your skills. Let us consider some other examples of how identifying your compelling interests can help you become more effective and fulfilled.

Let’s say that you like working with your hands and fixing problems with cars. If you enjoy working directly with people, specifically car owners, you might consider being an auto mechanic or repairman in a small shop, where you can have contact with the customers. Or if you prefer not having any customer contact at all, consider being a fleet mechanic. Or if you prefer independence, consider opening your own shop. Identifying your compelling interests can be vital to finding the most fulfilling place to use your skills.

Consider another example. Maybe you get a thrill out of explaining things to people and seeing the light go on in their eyes when they begin to understand. You enjoy learning and then sharing your knowledge with others. If so, you sound like a natural teacher. An aptitude test will tell you that much. What if by examining your interests you then discover plants and animals fascinate you and you enjoy being around young people? Bingo! A high school biology teacher! Or maybe your compelling interests show you are intrigued by the Bible and you prefer being around adults; try teaching an adult Bible class. Or your compelling interests might include finances and you are concerned about people who have trouble using money wisely; then consider being a financial advisor or conducting money management workshops.

Knowing only your aptitude is not enough. Knowing that you have teaching aptitude, for example, without considering your interests can lead to disaster. Agreeing to teach a class of eight- and nine-year-olds would be a big mistake if you do not like being around children!

Likewise, selecting a job simply because it requires your leadership aptitude may lead you into difficulty. If the group you are to lead is responsible for something that does not interest you, you will soon become frustrated or restless. Eventually you might even use your natural leadership skills to set a more interesting direction for the group, and you could become known as uncooperative or a troublemaker.

Identifying your compelling interest, your passion or preferred environment, can make the difference between simply using your skills and maximizing them. Using your natural aptitudes in the places or situations that interest you the most can bring you the ultimate in fulfillment. Doing what you do best, where you like being the most, greatly increases your effectiveness and yields the greatest satisfaction.

Do your life experiences shape your interests or reveal them? Consider a young child who shows interest in horses or mechanical objects or music, then that interest becomes a lifelong passion. Consider another person who experiences something for the first time; maybe she simply read about it or heard someone talk about it. Something happens inside her and she thinks, “I like that!” With time it becomes an obvious passion.

People can be very adaptable, adjusting their lives to their circumstances if they choose to do so. Many of us develop interests in whatever exists in our environment, which means we adjust to our surroundings.

Some people become interested in subjects most people don’t even know exist, such as famous scientists who made breakthroughs in their fields. They developed theories or made discoveries that eventually changed the world. Pasteur founded microbiology, invented pasteurization, and developed vaccines for anthrax, rabies, and cholera. Marconi discovered how to transmit radio signals over great distances. Edison patented the microphone, phonograph, and incandescent lamp. Einstein is famous for his theory of relativity. These people developed passions for subjects that were completely foreign to their friends and families. Something in their experience, however, showed them the potential and it captured their imagination. They pursued it relentlessly and it yielded results. All of us experience this same process but normally with less dramatic results.

You might have an experience that opens your eyes to a new possibility and captures your attention. You think about it, you dream about it, you pursue it and get involved in it. Eventually your interest in that subject becomes part of your identity and people relate it to you. It might begin as a hobby or be the result of a seemingly insignificant experience. Regardless of how you got started, your interest grows until it becomes a significant part of your life.

When you have an intense interest in something, you find ways to cultivate and satisfy that interest. Maybe you do so through your occupation, a hobby, volunteer work, or by adopting a cause. You consider it important and it becomes a priority for you. In fact, considering what we saw in the previous article on tendencies, your priorities probably reflect your interest. Whatever that interest is, you make time for it and you invest your money and other resources in it. It is not a passive or casual interest. Instead, it is a strong motivation and it compels you to be involved. It is a passion for you–maybe even an obsession–but certainly an intense interest, maybe a life-theme, even part of your identity.

You will be most satisfied and fulfilled if you can apply your aptitudes and tendencies toward your compelling interests, primarily because that is when you will be most effective. You’ll be most effective because you’ll be focused, applying all your skills and abilities to something that greatly interests you. Being effective at what you do is a major source of satisfaction and fulfillment.

Remember: Your aptitudes are your natural abilities. Your basic tendencies determine how you use your abilities. Your compelling interests identify the environments in which you prefer using them. You will be most effective and satisfied if you can apply your aptitudes and tendencies toward your compelling interests.