Turn your career into a calling

Our idea of what is sacred and what is secular limits our understanding of God’s power and sovereignty. We regard things that are done in church like prayer, worship and preaching as callings. But we call activities like accounting, banking, medical service, playing soccer and so on careers.
Author John Ortberg beautifully explained some of the major differences between a calling and a career. He said that in a career one is promised recognition, wealth, influence and other positive benefits whereas fulfilling God’s calling may lead to difficulty and suffering, but it also gives us the opportunity to be used of God.
A career is often viewed as a means to a positive end like fulfilled dreams but fulfilling God’s calling may be disappointing, discouraging, and always requires deep faith. The one who is called may be opposed by people, disapproved of and what he tries to do may be blocked.
He went further and said that a career is something we choose for ourselves while a calling is something we receive from God. A career is something we do for ourselves but a calling is something we do to serve God. A career may end with a comfortable retirement but a calling ends when we die.
Moreover a career provides temporal rewards whereas the significance of a calling lasts for eternity. A career can be disrupted by events but a calling can, by God’s enabling, be fulfilled despite the most oppositional circumstances.  Finally, a career is often built on our reason and abilities while a career is built on trust in God’s faithfulness.     
These differences exist in our minds but not in the mind of God. According to the Scripture every good gift and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights (James 1:17). This verse establishes God as the source of true gifts both spiritual and natural. Talents or inborn abilities are given to people by God. A person can choose to abuse the gifts or talents he or she possesses. But the source of all good gifts and perfect talents is always God. The opening Scripture above shows that Aaron the priest was called and inspired of God. And so was Bezaleel who master-minded the building of the tabernacle. God called Aaron to pray and preach but Bezaleel to plan and build. We need each other.
So the first step in turning your career into a calling is to acknowledge that God owns everything including you and all your talents and gifts. The Psalmist asserts the fact of divine ownership of all things. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein” Psalm 24:1).
Thus it makes no difference whether you are a pastor or a plumber; an evangelist or a sales person; a prophet or an electrician; an apostle or an entrepreneur; a spiritual teacher or a school teacher; a gospel singer or a maid;  an intercessor or a security guard: all are owned by God.
The second step is to view yourself as a steward of God. Renounce your claim to your rights. You are not your own, you belong to God. Your body is not your own, it is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Your gifts and talents are endowments given to you by God to serve Him with. You are just a manager of God’s things in your possession.
Thirdly, diligently and humbly use all your God-given gifts, abilities and talents to serve God and God’s people with a sense of responsibility and accountability. You can turn the natural into the spiritual through offering it as a sacrifice.
For example you can offer your physical body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him. This means you use the natural body as an instrument of righteousness only. You do not use your tongue to tell lies or allow your feet to run towards evil. The same applies to your voice, your hands, your eyes and mind. You can serve God in your plumbing, teaching, driving, building or gardening job by doing it heartily as unto God and not to men. Reward or no reward from people, you do your work well. Either do it perfectly well or do not do it at all. And your spirit of service should be an inner desire to please God who gave you the gift or the talent that you display to other people for reward.  
You turn your career into a calling when you do your work as unto the Lord.

-Mairos Mubvumbi is the founding pastor of Hope In Christ Ministries. You can send your prayer request to him on 0772889766 or mairos78@yahoo.co.uk