Upfront October 24, 2011 Issue

Your career, your calling

Maike Byrd, Staff Editor

Whether someone is trying to find a job in their chosen career, or feels stuck in a rut and is looking for career advancement, people all want to make the right career moves. In times of economic downturn this can seem especially taxing. Yet taking a more spiritual perspective on our careers can help lead to satisfying, purposeful—often unexpected—work during every phase of life.

Abraham, Moses, Nehemiah, and Paul are biblical examples of people who accomplished great things in their lives when they discovered and followed their permanent spiritual calling. The Apostle Paul, especially, experienced an extraordinary redirection of his career, becoming instrumental in spreading the teachings of Jesus throughout the Greco-Roman world. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul explained: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (3:14).

Each of us has that divine calling. For Clifford McElrea it was expressed in a humble desire to apply his talents and qualities however and wherever God wanted him to use them. This propelled him forward to realize that he was always “employed by God” to bless others (“Employed by the two ‘great commandments,’ ” p. 10). And when Lynde McCormick’s career was suddenly cut short by a layoff, a higher sense of love and of his right place being where God is, moved him out of discouragement to new career opportunities (“A career with no shelf life,” p. 8).

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