Finding a Career

How does a Christian make choices about work, education, and career?

"Six Days thou shalt labor . . . " (Deut. 5). Think of it: in the Fourth Commandment, work consumes six of the seven days of the Bible's description of my life; we are to find our work and do our work. We are also called to find rest. Jesus defines discipleship in two principles that focus our work and every part of our lives. One has to do with mandates, the other with chronology.

First the Great Commandment: If I am a believer in Jesus Christ, I am called to love God and to love my neighbor (Matt. 22:37). Jesus follows this with the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19): "Go ye into all the world and make disciples of all nations . . ." This means that all of our work and rest, our careers and our skills, fit into the large context of the great commandment and the great commission.

Just being a Christian means that these two mandates make up my most basic calling. When these first principles are clear to me, I am set free to take on just about any honest career and work I want to do.

My discipleship goal is to obey the great commandment and the great commission while I do my work, wherever it takes me. We are called as God's people, young and old, to find out what we do well and enjoy doing, then cheer each other on to "go for it"—which makes education and training so important to keep the doors open to what I want to do with my six days. The goal of education is to discover my own skills and vocational vision, so that I can do most what I do best in what is called my career.

There was a time when many Christians saw "call" as a word primarily for pastors and missionaries. But as we read the Bible more carefully, we realize that every Christian is a commissioned Christian.

The second principle is the chronological nature of work and career. First, chronology describes a simple truth we all know, and that is that the way toward more responsibility in any work or career is faithfulness in initial and intermediate responsibilities that come my way. Jesus put it clearly in the parable of the talents, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful in a few things, I will now give you more responsibility . . ." (Luke 19).

This principle means that I must pay my dues by hard work at "learning" in order to have the greatest freedom later on in "doing." Every athlete knows this basic truth because there are no short cuts to excellence in an athletic event. We must work hard to strengthen and sharpen our natural skills. That is the essence of the chronological principle. It takes time to learn any skill that will open the doorway to careers, and we must take the time that it takes. It takes time to fulfill the love mandate too, just as it takes time to thoughtfully share the gospel; sometimes it means learning a whole new language.

The second half of the principle describes the dynamic, changing nature of our work as our careers pass through time and change just as our lives change. Some of the most successful and fulfilled people I know have had several different identifiable careers through their life journey. It is never too late to re-enter school, take on new work challenges, make major mid-career changes.

It is possible to spend too much time waiting for special divine guidance from God about our career choices when we already have all we need in the great commandment and the great commission. What I need to do most of all is to get going on the chronological side and assemble pieces of the grand puzzle at school, work, home, and church. Find out what you are good at, then do it to the glory of God.