the next big thing

I saw The Social Network yesterday and have not been able to stop thinking or talking about it.  For one thing, the screenwriter Aaron Sorkin created one of my favorite shows of all time, The West Wing, in addition to the film The American President and the TV show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (which didn’t really go anywhere but was a smart, well-written show. Find it on Netflix.).  So as I expected, the dialogue was fast-paced and witty, making you feel both smarter and more sophisticated for having heard it (the anti-Jersey Shore).  I had heard that Sorkin and the director had taken a lot of creative liberties in order to make the plot more dramatic and make for a better, yet not altogether accurate, story.  I won’t spoil the movie, but it’s basically about Mark Zuckerberg and the creation myth of Facebook.  Zuckerberg is currently 27, owns half of Facebook which is valued at 25 billion dollars, and is the youngest billionaire in the world.  By all accounts, we would consider Zuckerberg to be a success story by leaps and bounds.

But here is what has gotten me thinking -  is it right to passionately pursue dreams and ambitions that will lead you to incredible success if it means that your life will border on obsession and push at a pace that seems hardly sustainable?  Today that’s what is celebrated in most areas of life and business – the graphic designer that will stare at a screen until she blacks out, the programmer that will code for 30-hour sessions, the pastor that will pick up the phone and run out the door for anyone and everyone at 3am.  I think we’re in awe of those people.  We see in them the path to success.  Be really great at something and pursue it with the passionate zeal of an artist who is never satisfied.  And the earlier you find what makes you great and push yourself to the limit to create and invent and be better than anything that has ever been, the better chance you might be the next Mark Zuckerberg.  The Social Network shows the dark side to this kind of creative, world-changing genius.  It shows how gaining the world can ruin lives.  And you can’t help but think of the words of Jesus – “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:26)

Again, the movie is a dramatic portrayal that stretches the truth.  So I don’t want to vilify Zuckerberg or anyone else for that matter.  But I know that there are so many out there, especially young people, who want to be the next big thing and can’t wait to get there.  Smart people will tell you that the way to do it is to pursue your talents and passions with relentless and ruthless determination.  Stay up all night for as many nights as you need to.  If you love it, it won’t feel like work.  Great things can happen that way and incredible things can get done, but I’m afraid of the cost if the train suddenly goes off the rails.

I love the next big thing, what’s new and what’s fast.  But I’m starting to be just as concerned about what is of God, and will last, and what won’t kill me in the end.  What will I enjoy and be proud of and feel like God has made happen through the power of the Holy Spirit?  I think that when we find that way that God is really working through us, we’ll want to stay up all night, and it won’t feel like work.  But hopefully we’ll know our limits and get a decent night of sleep.

What’s the next big thing God is doing?  I’m guessing it’s not going to look like Facebook or make young adults into billionaires.  But I know if it’s what God is doing, I’m not going to lose or forfeit my very self.