Driven or Called?

What is the difference between a driven person and a called person? Gordon McDonald offers the answer in several chapters of his book, Ordering Your Private World (2003). For instance, the driven are “preoccupied with symbols of accomplishment”1, only finding satisfaction when this need is met, and with an insatiable desire for more. Lacking integrity and people skills, they are often highly competitive, express fits of rage, and always seem to need to load their lives with activity. In short, the driven live to glorify self because there is no one else great enough (in their own mind) to please.

Called people, on the other hand, possess strength from within, a quality of perseverance and power that are impervious to the blows from without. A called person is a steward, because he knows who he is, because he is purposeful-anticipates the day when it is time to step back and let go.

To deal with drivenness, one must begin to ruthlessly appraise one's own motives and values, just as Peter was forced to do in his periodic confrontations with Jesus. The person seeking relief from drivenness will find it wise to listen to mentors and critics who speak Christ's words to us today. He may have some humbling acts of renunciation, some disciplined gestures of surrender of things-things that are not necessarily bad, but that have been important for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps the driven person will have to grant forgiveness to some of those who in the past never offered the proper kind of affection and affirmation. And all of that may be just the beginning. 2

Over the years I tried to live as one called, but often inherited or "caught" the drivenness of others around me. What is my condition now? I can still stand up in front of a “Drivenness Anonymous” meeting and introduce myself as driven. There, however, are signs of recovery. I do not need to work in a high-visibility job any more. I am more appreciative of the little things: knowing my neighbors by name, spending time with my family, and enjoying watching an old musical on DVD. Am I driven or called?

I believe that Paul summarized the difference between drivenness and called when he stated:

To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. (Rom 2:7, 8, NIV)

-- Al

1 Gordon McDonald, Ordering Your Private World (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 34.
2 Ibid, 54.