When Expectations About Your Calling Are Messing You Up
People of faith are often people of passion. It’s not uncommon for those who have been touched by grace of God to want to return the favor, to make a difference in this world. We want to know our place in the scheme of things and we are passionate about change.
It’s this desire that is often called “the calling,” and it’s something we take seriously around here, centering our daily stories and dialogue on “the High Calling.”
The problem is that we often confuse the “calling” with our paycheck. That somehow all of Destiny is to be fulfilled in the 9-5 work world.
Karen Yates asks some probing questions in her post The Elusive Calling. “Who told us we have a right to a meaningful job? Who defines whether our job has meaning? And who says our job is our calling?”
She believes our expectations about calling are skewed and need to be readjusted.
- We have an expectation that our calling is discoverable.
- We have an expectation our calling is going to feel deliciously good.
- We have an expectation that our calling will be profound.
Karen writes, “We want to become instant successes, start a business, invent something unique, write a book that impacts thousands, raise the next Margaret Thatcher, write music that reaches the Billboard Top 100, become the next Rick Warren, or make movies that matter. We're a culture consumed with numerical impact, with ROIs, awards, and the recognition of man, so when our 'calling' is to be in the shadows, it's a tough pill to swallow.”
Read her whole post, The Elusive Calling.
Post by Newsletter Editor David Rupert. Image credits to be found in the accompanying gallery.