Vocation vs Calling
" Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him." 1 Corinthians 7: 17
Being someone who loves the business environment and making deals, this was the first place I had to take that microscopic look on my journey to M6:33. What was the purpose of my business? Like most men, I was indoctrinated in the belief that the sole goal of business was to make money. The more money I made the more success and the more of worldly goods and recognition I could have. As I looked into my microscope, that idea seemed more and more to be contradictory and a stumbling block to what Jesus was saying.
If God was going to have first place in my life, then business would have to be somewhere under His position in my life. That would mean that everything connected to business would have to be done with God as my authority and belief system. My purpose in business would have to be for the purpose of God. That brought up some questions for which I did not have an answer. Why was I doing what I was doing? Was I called or did I choose this particular vocation?
Since my Dad put me to work driving nails for him in the summers during high school and college, I began to develop a love for the homebuilding business. To this day, my veins run with sawdust, mortar, and dirt. I chose the homebuilding business because that was what I wanted to do. It would be my vocation. If I am totally honest, however, homebuilding also offer me the opportunity to make a lot of money, if I was good at what I did. It did not take me long after entering the marketplace that the love of money was more that the love of God. We must understand, God wants to bless us with as much success, including money, as we are capable of handling. That is how seminaries get built and missionaries go to foreign countries. We just have to love God more.
As I was taking my journey, the passage in verse 24 became a stumbling block. I could not get past this verse. The verse states; "no man can serve two masters." I had chosen my vocation, yet, God has told me that I should seek Him first. The thinking of the world is that our vocation in business is to make money. Yet, the verse in 1 Corinthians refers to a calling of God. So, what did God have to do with my vocation? Was there a calling from God as to what I should do in my vocation?
The two masters in business are God and money. Well, this was the first obstacle. I truly felt at this point that verse 24 was for everyone else. I could be the only one who could serve both masters. I could serve God in the church and serve money in the marketplace. Notice the indication of my thought - a separation of my church life from my business life. That left God out of the business. But that was not my goal. My goal was to move the secular life to the sacred life. This passage not only gives us two masters, but it also gives us two choices. The next sentence reads; "Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." I had to be completely and ruthlessly honest with myself. I really believed the only purpose of my business was to make money. I wanted to make it fairly and ethically, but I wanted to make money. That is when the question of my calling began to really sink in. Every fiber in my being told me I was here to serve God. My call was not to a business, but to a service to God. My vocation, one that God had given me a tremendous desire for, was a calling to serve him in the marketplace through my business.That should be my purpose. If God chose to bless me with money, then I should give Him the praise and honor for all He has done. Serving God first meant He was in charge of my business, I was the servant. My responsibility was to be the very best businessman I could possibly be while carrying out His commands and principles .
