Canadian journalist and author Malcom Gladwell famously wrote in his book Outliers that, “Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness.” He was speaking about how much time it takes to become a world-class professional, the best of an individual’s field. This idea is based on research done by K. Anders Ericsson on how long it takes in practice to become an orchestral musician.
When you are interested in something and your heart is focused on it, finding time to practice it, get better at it, and become an expert at it becomes effortlessly easy. It becomes fun. Other things opposed to it become not only uninteresting but may even become repulsive or evil to you. Our minds and ways of thinking are focused and narrowed toward the subject, profession, or ideology.
The deeper you dive into something, and the more you learn and focus on it, the more affinity you will have for it. The more affinity you have for a particular subject, ideology, etc., when another something comes into conflict, it is easy to be against that new thing. This may even lead to a “strong delusion” which may lead one to believe or choose what has been focused on over what is better or even what may be truth over an ideology of untruths. Paul mentions this in 2 Thessalonians 2:11. God gives us this capacity to focus on the passion of our heart. It is a blessing to be used for evil or for righteousness. Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
Jesus is speaking about the passions of our heart. When devoting time to those passions we are devoting time to either ourselves and what might draw us more to the self or world, or more to godly focus, for “no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24).
What is our heart focused upon? Every day everyone, regardless of who you are, is putting in time toward the passions of our heart. To what is our heart focused? Are we working toward being an expert in our selfish, worldly, or sinful desires, or is the expertise we are building daily the will of God we have made our own in our hearts? Once the 10,000 hours are done, will we have a love for the world and a hatred of God because of our lifestyles and habits, or will we have a love for God, longing to be with Him because the things of this world are so shallow and contrary to the desire of our heart?
Lance Byers