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CHOOSING CAREER
One of the important choices or decisions we make after accepting Jesus Christ
as our personal Lord and Saviour is that of choosing a career. Indeed from early
childhood onwards one may be attracted to a particular kind of career or work
depending on one’s environment. As one studies in the school and later in the
college one may often wonder what kind of a profession or job he will eventually
land in. With high unemployment rate one may also be dismayed whether one has a
choice at all with regard to his / her career. Sooner or later you will be
deciding on your career. In this talk I want to discuss with you some of the
important aspects one need to take care of while choosing a career.
1. Things
to consider
a) Obeying
God’s commands:
Through out the Scripture there is a
strong call to obedience – doing what God has told us in every situation. This
implies that we can only choose occupations that will not violate God’s
commands.
b) Consider God’s priorities:
Seeking first God’s kingdom and righteousness. (Mt.
6:33). We also read of the importance of family relationships (1Tim 5:8). When
evaluating an occupation, then we should consider whether it moves us towards
God and how it affects our families. Does this job provide an adequate living
wage? Will this promotion pull me away from the family? Will this position help
me become the kind of person God wants me to be?
c)
Be Good stewards:
As Christians, we have the responsibility to use well
what God entrusted to us. It is not enough to put in our time on a job for money
or any kind of remuneration. Life is too short to waste it in meaningless work.
When choosing a career we need to ask if it is a good investment of our lives.
Will the world be a better place because of what we do?
2. Ultimate thing:
Even our greatest achievements are like sand castles
children build on the seashore, which quickly wash away; however, our view of
life changes dramatically if we put God into the picture and take into account
the eternity that stretches beyond time. If we are motivated by love for God,
obedience to His Word, and a burning desire to glorify the heavenly Father, our
works will have an imperishable value and we will receive God’s approval.
“God wants to be wherever there are people. As God
puts you in places where your life touches others, He is giving you fabulous
opportunities to reflect the joy, gladness, and love of Jesus. Whether you are a
gas station attendant, a waitress, a clerk in a store, a receptionist, you’re in
a powerful position to be used by God to spread some joy and encouragement and
love around. God can use those in the healing professions, authors, teachers,
judges, and those involved in social welfare or anthropological activity. If
you’re in research or scientific development God can surely use you, because He
is saving some of His biggest surprises for the next generation; incredible
secrets are still locked within our universe waiting to be discovered by
research scientists. There is no area of life where God cannot use you. We need
to realize continually that no person is too small for God’s love and that no
project is unimportant in His whole scheme of things. We also need to think big,
because God will give us a task in proportion to our view of our own capacity.
If we see ourselves as large buckets God will pour in big challenges, big
expectations.
3. Counsel of God and Others:
When we are faced with difficult decisions, we must
pray for God’s direction and we must proceed logically unless God very
specifically lead us some other way. This is why it is important for us to know
what Scripture teaches – we need to understand it, so we can obey it. We have to
be careful not to confuse our own desires with God’s divine will. So often we
get our own ideas of what we think would be good for us or for someone else, and
we end up pursuing something that might not be God’s will at all. We need to
look to God for direction and then leave ourselves open to change if He shows us
that our plans are not really the best way to go.
Whenever we pray for guidance, we must be open to
change. We must realize that we are after all, human – and thus we can be in
error, even though a decision looks completely logical and convincing from our
viewpoint. We do not think as God thinks. We do not see as He sees them. God can
see the future as well as the past and present and He can understand what is
best for us. What looks like an answer right now might not be suitable answer
down the road so God in His wisdom and love may withhold what we want in order
to give us something better. I don’t think God ever denies us things just to
deny us. It is always with a purpose. Only God knows what the future holds so we
should be open to letting Him change our direction for us.
Counsel of Others
In discovering the will of God, each
of us needs a support group. We must be willing to submit ourselves to the
members of the group and not override their judgment when they tell us that what
we are about to do is contrary to God’s will. God often speaks through our
brothers and sisters in Christ much more effectively than He speaks to us
directly, because sometimes our egos get in the way of direct communication.
Choose people who are like you so they will understand you; choose people with
whom you have a natural affinity. From these people you can develop a small
support group to pray for each other and help each other discover God’s will.
4. Decision Making
Once we have followed the above steps, we need to take
the decision stepping out in faith. The LORD who has promised to guide us all
through life will continue to guide us. The following steps may help you in the
process of decision-making:
1. Focus on God (Mt. 6:33)
2. Obey what God has already told you
(Rom. 13:8)
3. Pray (Phil. 4:6)
4. Study the Bible (2 Tim 3:16,17)
5. Get counsel (Prov. 20:5,18)
6. Think (Rom 12:2)
7. Act in confidence (James 1:6-8)
Consistently Scripture shows that God guides his people not through elaborate
revelations of the future but only step-by-step. His guidance comes
incrementally, one insight at a time.
On the
positive side, God does give us all the information we need to know his will for
a decision. He provides all the insight we need to take the next step in front
of us.
But
no more than that.
The God
who created our minds gives us only as much information about his will as he
knows we can handle at a given time. It's essential that we move forward in
light of that insight to be in a position to understand his guidance for the
step beyond.
5. Conclusion
Each of has a job to do, a calling to fulfill, a
partnership with Christ that is highly personal according to the gifts He has
given us. Following God’s will is truly exciting as we live out the life we have
received from Him.
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