*Os Guinness and specifically his book The Call
There are certain general truths about calling that we must understand before we can find our own specific callings.
1) We are all given different gifts and abilities.
We are all wired in certain ways. The Scottish runner and gold medal winner Eric Liddell (central character in Chariots of Fire) was once asked by a journalist how he became such a successful athlete to which he responded “it’s the three sevens.” Liddell was talking about the 7th verse of the 7th chapter of the 7th book of the New Testament (1 Corinthians 7:7) which says “each of you have your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.” Liddell knew it was no accident that he could run fast. In Chariots of Fire, when Eric’s sister urged him to stop racing and go to China as a missionary, he lovingly explained to her “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”
This truth should be taught to people early on. Parents should more than encourage, they should push their kids to discovering their gifts even in their teens. This can only give them a head start on life. Otherwise they spend a few years in a career that they hate because their parents forced them to major in a subject that would ensure they are hired once they graduate from college! I know parents think they are doing what is best for their kids by planning out their lives for them but they really are not. Os Guinness told his son “CJ you are not me. You are quite different from me. You’ve got your own gifts and that’s what you need to discover, so don’t become like me.” This is not to say that parents should not be involved in the process! They should above all be praying for them, then suggesting ideas and encouraging them when talents begin to emerge.
“What is it that makes you come alive and become most like yourself when you are doing it? Well, that’s the core of giftedness and, therefore, the core of calling.”
2) There is no such thing as a higher verses a lower calling or a sacred verses a secular calling.
The harmful distinction was introduced in the 3rd century by Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea. Eusebius was a prolific writer and early church historian who argued that there are “two ways of life.” One is the “perfect life” and the other is the “permitted life.” The perfect life is contemplative, ascetical (denying yourself any pleasure), and limited to monks, nuns and priests. The permitted life is mundane, secular and is reserved for the rest of us (soldiers, farmers, businessmen, and those of who “just have jobs”). Unfortunately this line of thinking influenced some of the pillars of the Christian faith. Such a distinction can be found in the writings of Augustine and Aquinas among others.
This pernicious lie continues to plague us today, 14 centuries later. We still hear phrases such as “full-time Christian service.” Personally, it stressed me out to think there was a distinction. As I have said before I love Jesus but don’t really have a desire to be a pastor. I love entrepreneurship and want to be in business and was therefore thrilled to learn that God will be just as pleased with me if I choose (with the right motivations) the entrepreneur’s path over the pastor’s podium.
The danger is that people will choose ministry out of a sense of duty rather than in response to a call. There are devastating consequences of the former, not only to you as an individual but also to those you are ministering to! In November 2010 a “church around the world” bulletin revealed the following: “Findings have surfaced with ominous regularity: members of the clergy suffer from obesity, hypertension, and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could.” We can all see the snowballing effects of this. How much do you think a congregation will learn from the sermons of pastors who don’t enjoy teaching, who don’t prepare their messages, and worse still who get frustrated with slow learners? How much empathy will a person seeking counsel get from a pastor who might by nature be introverted and unsociable? Del Tackett, of the Truth Project, says the bottom line is that “some pastors are just not supposed to be pastors.”
Breaking through this mental barrier frees us to live life as Christ intended. Everything we do, even the mundane daily tasks, can be done to the glory of God. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) In the early 1500s Martin Luther realized that the message of Jesus had been hijacked by men who were eager to infuse their own interpretation of scripture into the church. Thus the Protestant Reformation was born out of a desire to return to the heart of Jesus’ message.
Luther recommended the abolition of all monastical orders because they had no basis in scripture. Christians were called to be “in the world but not of the world” while monasteries called people away from the common Christian life that Jesus modeled for us. Luther wrote that “the works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks, but that all tasks are measured before God by faith alone.”
3) Your calling is greater than your job.
Before long though, Protestants began to put their own spin on what calling was and by the climax of the Industrial Revolution, our occupations had been made sacred. As is often the case, religion was manipulated to serve man’s goals. Work was glorified for the sake of human progress. President Coolidge once proclaimed that the “man who builds a factory builds a temple” and Henry Ford asserted that “work is the salvation of the human race, morally, physically, socially.” Os Guinness reflects that “the original demand that every Christian was to have a calling was boiled down to the demand that each citizen should have a job.”
Your calling will inevitably be much greater than your job. Your job is not big enough for you! In a perfect world, it would be possible for each person to earn a living through their calling, to have a job that drew out our gifts and abilities in a way that allowed us to derive maximum fulfillment from serving others. Unfortunately this is not the case. Reality teaches us that a majority of people will be forced to find a job that will pay the bills and put bread on the table. If this is the case with you, your calling could be ministering to those around you wherever you are, at work, at church or even at a football game.
There is also the unfortunate reality that jobs simply do not last very long. The average person will change companies, positions, or even industries multiple times in their career. Even if we find a job that we love, we will eventually have to retire. Professional athletes would especially be in trouble if their calling was limited to their job. They get injured often and grow old (relative to the newcomers) quick. The average time a professional football player spends in the NFL is only FOUR years!
The biggest danger of equating our jobs to our calling is the fact that our calling often is the foundation of our identity and how we see ourselves. One of the first questions we are asked at any social gathering is usually “what do you do?” We are then judged by our answer. We therefore develop this notion that “we are what we do.” If you buy into the lie that you are what you do and your identity is wrapped up in your job then your self-worth will go out the window as soon as you lose your job or you retire. True calling, on the other hand, is a lifelong mission. You will never retire from your calling even if you are unemployed.
4) In summary..
We are called more to someone than to something. Calling is different for everybody. Some find their calling early, some find it late, some find a long steady calling and some find several callings throughout their lives. Where and how we live out our calling will be different for each person. God gives gifts and aligns circumstances to guide us in the right direction. We shouldn’t sacrifice our gifts and desires to pursue a “holier than thou” life. Rather, Christians should resolve to be Christ-like wherever they find themselves and offer every part of their lives “as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God.” Finally, calling helps us put our job in its proper perspective. It is neither a curse nor an idol but something that allows us to serve God’s greater purpose.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great word Nate! You’re right to point out some of the fallacies that have been built around the idea of “calling” among Christians. So much anxiety is produced by well-meaning believers who think that if they don’t find the perfect match between their job, calling and passion that they’re missing God’s will. This produces a lot of burned-out schitzophrenic Christians.
Paul was a tent-maker. That was not his calling, that was his job.
Good article mate. From someone who doesn’t like to write;)
I think that we can have couple of callings like : being a father, etc. The Holy One will always guide us in our callings. We just have to believe it a walk with it and with him.
Blessings