The Difference Between Occupation & Vocation
Our occupation is how we make a living… Our vocation, on the other hand, is what we’re inherently wired for. It’s less likely to consist of a set of tasks and more likely to consist of a set of themes. – The Accidental Creative p. 210
I stand on a plateau. It’s a similar place I have found myself before. After a few years at a job, I became restless and want to move on. Most times, the culture of the organization has changed and my job transforms into a sit and wait job. Sit and wait for something to break. There are days when I feel like I need to suck it up and push through because no job is perfect.
I have pondered on this for several weeks now and I realize I’m frustrated because I’m not fulfilling my vocation. I’m trying to make the tasks I complete be the end all of my vocational fulfillment. I’m not doing the hard work of seeking out the things I am passionate about and bring me joy.
Many of us spend a lot of time thinking about how to pay the bills but little time thinking about who we really are and how to bring our full passion to what we do. We haven’t learned to discern the difference between our occupation and our vocation. As long as we keep trying to find fulfillment in the tasks we complete in our occupation, we will be frustrated.
My mind keeps coming back to the life of Paul. Paul’s occupation was tent making. His vocation was reasoning with Jew and Gentile alike that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. His tent making allowed him to make money to support his vocation. I would venture a guess he never questioned whether his tent making made him happy. I’m sure he was a great tent maker and did his best in all his endeavors. However, his occupation did not define him. His vocation defined him and propelled him. He was a minister of the Gospel to the Gentiles and that kept him going even in spite of persecution and imprisonment.
I enjoy solving problems. I like helping people. I like leading a small group and seeing people grow in their faith. I like teaching and seeing the light bulb go off.
So as this year starts out, I need to do the hard work of understanding what my vocation is and not worry so much about the occupation.
How do you find the balance between your occupation and vocation?
Shouting into the Void
Over the last six years, I have had spurts of writing. I might write for a couple of weeks and eventually I stop. There are a host of reasons for this but one constant is I feel I’m shouting into the void. No matter what any artist or craftsman tells you, they want someone to appreciate their work. It may not be the motivating factor but it’s always there.
I’m not looking for fame and fortune. I write because it helps me process my ideas. It gives me clarity. But I also want to know that the things I write make a difference. Maybe I encourage someone to try something new. Perhaps I bring a smile to their face. I don’t want my words to collect dust on a shelf somewhere. I want people to interact with them; to tell me I’m off my rocker if they think so. Read more
What is Christian Fellowship?
Image courtesy of SpirosK
I find myself coming back to the idea of Christian fellowship again and again. Some people may think of me as that crazy uncle who rants about how things should be. I have to admit that it feels like I go to extremes on this sometimes. I have come to understand that I can be counted on to find what’s wrong with a situation. And I know that I can be the downer in the room when I start working through all the flaws in an idea. But as a friend of mine observed, I can also keep pressing people from becoming complacent because I can see there’s so much more ahead.
And that is where I find myself on the topic of fellowship. I know that so many times we are making mud pies and call it fellowship when God desires to give us a weekend at the beach, to borrow an analogy from C.S. Lewis. I think some of it stems from the frantic pace of our lives that we’ve forgotten how to slow down and enjoy relationships. We get so busy with activities, even activities with people, but we miss the bigger picture. Read more
Do I Have a Plan?
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Proverbs 19:21
Yes I do. I have lots of plans. I have plans for my next job. I have plans to have a family one day. I have plans for ten or more stories floating in my head. I have plans for various websites. I have plans for businesses I could start.
The problem is not, “Do I have a plan,” but which one should I pursue?
Recently, I’ve had friends and colleagues ask me about my future plans. Sometimes, these questions come across with a tone of exasperation. “When are you going to do something,” seems to be the subtext of their inquiries. I guess the frustration I have with these queries is I find myself walking a tightrope. Read more
Book Review: Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias
Beyond Opinion is a book about apologetics. The editors divided it into three sections. The first looks at the various questions that postmodernism, atheism, world religions and science have about Christianity. The second part looks at how we have to internalize both the questions and answers. They discuss how the Holy Spirit is the only one that brings transformation and how persecution and doubt can aid in that transformation. The final section discusses the believer’s role in apologetics.
I enjoyed this book. It didn’t focus on one-size-fits-all arguments. Some of the chapters were very accessible and others leaned toward the academic side. They clearly presented the questions people are asking and gave guidelines on how to go about preparing to answer them. I appreciated that the authors continually pointed out that you can have all the right answers but without the power of the Holy Spirit, you’ll just be a clanging cymbal. In the final chapter, Dr Zacharias made a great point. When you are talking with someone coming from a different worldview, you have to step into their mindset to understand how to talk to them, just as Paul did with the Athenians, Corinthians and the countless others he preached to.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
A Follower or a Disciple?
The sun is at its highest and borders on unbearable. I can feel the heat of the sun seeping through my clothing. My lips are dry and all I taste is dust. That same dust hangs in the air from the crowd moving in front of me.
I don’t know why I’ve been following this man around. He came through Jericho a few weeks ago and was teaching and healing people. I’ve never seen anything like it. The leaders in the synagogue don’t teach like this. They just give us rules and condemnation. This man, they call him Jesus, even speaks against the Pharisees. He claims to be the son of Man and I believe it.
Some of his teachings are encouraging. He teaches that I should not be anxious. God takes care of the birds and the flowers and He loves me so much more, so He will take care of my needs. On the other side he teaches about repentance and perishing if I don’t.
Today was some of the hardest teachings I’ve ever heard. He told us that if we don’t hate our family, our parents, and even our own lives, then we can’t be his disciples. He said I have to bear my cross daily. I have to renounce all that I have to be his disciple.
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Standing on the Edge of Something
This New Year was truly the turning of a page. I graduated from seminary last month and so now I feel like I have this wide expanse before me. The only problem is I don’t know which way to go. I’ve got a lot of ideas rolling around in my head. However, many of these hair-brained ideas lead to the five years that prefaced my coming to seminary. Read more
Four Years of Seminary – Looking Back
It finally hit me this morning. My seminary career is at a close. When I moved here four years ago, I couldn’t envision actually graduating. I came here with the simple leading of the Spirit. No audible call, no clear direction, no vision and no idea of what the future held. I simply knew that this was the next step. Read more
Cambodia 2009 Recap
People have asked me what I liked about Cambodia or what I learned. It’s been hard to synthesize my thoughts because in part I was adjusting to being back in the states and also the stress of looking for a job.
The biggest thing that stands out in my mind is the sense of family and community. You’ve got a group of people that come from various nationalities and backgrounds yet have a common bond in Jesus Christ. Despite the cultural and language differences, they are a family. Our idea of family in the states has been skewed because of our frantic schedules and our geographic dispersion. This group in Cambodia eats together, works together, worships together and plays together. They care for each other and serve each other. This just stirred a longing in me for the same kind of community here. Read more
Book Review: Life Together
I had to write a book digest for my Adult Small Groups class and decided I would go ahead and post it. Part of the assignment was to come up with a guiding principle from each chapter. These principles would be used by those starting small groups.
Bonhoeffer wrote this book while working at an underground seminary living with 25 students. He is very systematic and prescriptive in this book. He begins by looking at what Christian community is and is not. He then moves on to discuss how the community is to fellowship at various points of the day. Following this, he looks at how the individual is to go about their individual devotions which in turn will strengthen the community. Bonhoeffer concludes the book by looking at the ministries that the community is to perform for one another and how confession and communion are to occur within the community.
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