Is it a calling if it keeps changing?

• At one point, I would have said that I was being called into a career in architecture.
• Then it was a career in aviation.
• Then it was a more general career in business.
• Eventually, it morphed into a calling into youth ministry (crossing my fingers, I hoped it was going to be a calling into some form of snowboard ministry in the mountains).
• It wasn’t. After three years of Bible College, I felt the calling was to be a youth pastor at my local church.
• 6 years later, I felt called out of youth ministry and into the workforce.
• A year later, I felt called back into a church setting. Not to youth ministry this time but to serve my local church generally.
• Today, I not only serve my local church but have been given opportunities to serve leaders from all over. The call keeps shifting.

Now, either I’m just terrible at discerning my calling or I’ve been throwing the word around a little too willy-nilly and haven’t really known what I was talking about (and now I’m using term “willy-nilly” in my writing, I guess).  This is all very confusing.

Not everyone seems to have the same issue as me.  I’ve heard pastors say very confidently, “I don’t have a career, I have a calling” (by which they were implying that they plan on staying in their current church for their entire lives).

I can’t help but think that these people are the exception.

One study reported that the average Canadian can expect to hold 15 jobs in their lifetime.  Over 50% of people will only hold their current position for less than 2 years.

If having a calling means finding that one perfect spot for life, most of us aren’t finding it.

But maybe it was never meant to refer to this.  Maybe there is a new way of looking at calling (or, rather, a very old way).

 

Back to the Roots

The term “vocation” came from the latin word, vocare, which means “to call.”

Traditionally, something could only be seen as a calling if somebody else called you to it.

This “somebody” was often understood to be God.

In this way, the term “vocation” has very spiritual roots.

If we explore these spiritual roots a little further, we find that the term for calling is used quite often in the New Testament, but perhaps not how we think.

Tim Keller, in his book, Every Good Endeavor, articulates his understanding of the Biblical writers.

First, the term for calling applies most often simply to the calling that we all have to be in a relationship with the God who made us.

Second, the call seems to be towards relationship with others as well – we were meant to discover this thing called the “Kingdom of God” as a community, and not primarily as individuals.

This is great, but so far there is nothing about jobs or careers at all.

It is mostly about who we are called to be (or be with), rather than what we are called to do.

Our calling is primarily about who we are to be, rather than what we are to do. Click To Tweet

Then Keller looks at a really interesting passage in a letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthian church and we begin to get a sense of how calling and career work together.

 

Paul’s view on calling

When this whole Jesus thing started, people had all sorts of practical questions about what it meant to follow him.  One of those questions concerned people’s jobs.

What were they supposed to do with their time when they decided to follow Jesus?  Do they continue to be fishermen and farmers?  Do they need to quit their jobs and go on mission or just spend their days praying, waiting for him to return?

Paul speaks into this and essentially says, “Keep doing what you’re doing.”  He tells them that when they come to believe in Jesus’ message, it is unnecessary to drastically change their current state – whether that’s their job, their marital state, or their social position.

More specifically, in 1 Cor. 7:17, he writes:

“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.”

Don’t miss this.  Paul is using the same terms and the same language here that he uses elsewhere to speak of one’s calling in life.  Only this time, he is using the terms to describe what people were already doing.

Paul is telling the Corinthians that regardless of where they are or what they’re doing, whether that’s being a carpenter, blacksmith, or tax collector, they’ve already found their calling.

A calling wasn’t something that people needed to pursue; it was something to recognize as already present.  They didn’t need to take a series of assessments and personality tests to find it, but simply open their eyes to see their current situation in a new way.

He even goes so far as to say that this applies to slaves who have decided to follow Jesus.  Even though he counsels them to retain their freedom if they can, he believes it is possible that even they could view their situation as an “assignment” from God

(the fact that he says their current situation is their “calling” but also advises them to find their freedom seems to pretty clearly imply that one’s calling can change throughout life – and maybe should).

Not only does Paul turn the traditional view of calling on its head, but he is also disabusing his readers of any silly notion that some jobs may be more “spiritual” or important than others.  Rabbis, missionaries, pastors – they are no more called to their positions than the hairdresser down the street.

 

How a job becomes a calling

For Keller, everyone can see their current work as their calling under one condition.  He writes,

“Our daily work can be a calling only if it is reconceived as God’s assignment to serve others.”

God’s assignment to serve others.  If you want a five-word definition of how work is viewed in the Bible, that’s probably it.

The beauty is that this is possible wherever we find ourselves, whether we’re flipping burgers, building homes, or raising kids – it’s all a calling.

Our calling is not a position or a place, it’s a perspective. Click To Tweet

 

Calling vs. “Fit”

When we typically use the word “calling,” we are often asking two things:

1. Is this job important? We want to know that what we do matters and is about more than simply getting a paycheque.  Does it make a difference in the larger scheme of things?  In other words, we’re looking for meaning.
2. Is this a good “fit” for me? We want to work in places that utilize our skills and abilities but also resonate with our interests and motivations.  We’re asking, “Am I wasting my talents,” or simply, “Am I bored?”

These are important questions.

When our work lacks meaning, we lose motivation quickly. But if we can reconceive our work as an assignment from God to serve others, then what we’re doing is inherently significant.

But what about “fit?”  Is that connected to calling?

Quite simply, “No, not necessarily.”

Remember, calling isn’t a place, it’s a perspective – a reimagining of where you already are.

But “fit” is a place.  Or potentially many places.  It’s important to separate these two concepts.

If you don’t like what you do, don’t say, “I don’t feel called to this,” but simply, “I don’t really like doing this.”  Keep it simple.  Don’t make it bigger than it is.

If you’re not good at what you do, it might just be that you’re new and the role has a steep learning curve.  Go take some training and invest in your professional development.  Chances are good that when you get better at what you do, you’ll also start liking it more (passion almost always follows understanding and competence – it doesn’t precede it).  Failure in your job is not evidence of a lack of calling, but simply that you have more to learn.

In other words, you can live out your calling even while you’re struggling to find your fit.

(If you are struggling, though, this article on Finding Your Sweet Spot might help).

 

Where do we go from here?

To me, this new understanding of calling takes a lot of the pressure off.

We don’t need to keep chasing after this elusive, mystical position and keep wondering if we’ve missed our opportunity.  We’re free to work where we want and take new opportunities as they arise, or we’re free to stay in one career track our whole lives.  Both are good options.

We take our callings with us.

We don’t wait for our work to give us meaning; we bring meaning to our work. Click To Tweet

 

What’s your take?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Leave a comment below or start a conversation on social media – let’s chat!

Thanks for being here,

Dan