From Jerry Sittser and his book ‘the Will of God as a Way of Life’:
Choosing a career is one of the weightier decisions we will ever make. Careers demand our time, our energy and our loyalty like anything else can or does, except marriage and parenthood. No wonder, then, that we want to choose the right career, the one that God has willed for us. The decision is not always clear, however, which is evidenced by the frequency by which people change careers. How can we discover the career God wills for us?
The language we use might make the decision harder than it has to be. We use the word “career” to describe the nature of our professional work. I suggest we replace it with the word “calling.”
Career is a secular word. We use it often, though without giving much thought to it. I define career as a particular line of work one does to earn an income. Most careers require formal education or training. They allow us to contribute to the order and welfare of society. A career usually provides power and status of some kind and helps us to feel as if we fit into society as contributing members.
Calling is a theological word, perhaps less familiar to us, and its meaning is more ambiguous. I define calling as a specific vision of how God wants us to use our time, energy and abilities to serve him in the world.
There is obviously overlap between the two words. Many people fulfill their calling in life through a job or career. Nevertheless, a calling is different from a career in at least four ways. We will explore the differences in more detail in the next three chapters, so I will only mention them briefly here at the outset.
First, a calling transcends a career in the same way an athlete transcends the sport he or she plays. One simply is an athlete, by nature and ability; one plays a sport. The primary calling of every Christian is to follow God, regardless of ability, position, opportunity or background. Whether young or old, ordinary or extraordinary, poverty stricken or pampered, everyone is called of God to trust, serve and obey him. This is our primary calling. As Os Guinness, a contemporary Christian author and social critic, argues: “Calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that every thing we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion, dynamism, and direction lived out as a response to his summons and service. ~Jerry Sittser, The Will of God as a Way of Life (Grand Rapids, Michigan) 2000, 2004) p.157-158 (continued)
