On Choosing a Calling

ROBERT S. VAN ATTA

Almost every young person at some time or other is faced with the problem of choosing a calling, of deciding what his life-work is to be. He probably feels keenly the responsibility of deciding wisely in so important a matter. Perhaps various lines of work present themselves to his thought. He considers his talents and abilities, his financial needs and his preferences. Perhaps desire and duty seem to be in serious conflict. Then out of this mist of mental disorder and uncertainty he attempts to arrive at a decision. But there is a better and more satisfying way out of the difficulty than the way of mere human decision.

Generally the word "calling" means one's usual occupation or employment. More particularly, as applied to religious occupations, it is used in the sense of a divine summons. Yet, since God loves and guides all His children impartially, it must be that He calls each one for the work that is his. Therefore, to choose one's calling rightly is to listen to God's voice and accept His direction. The question comes, What must one do to hear God's voice? Briefly the answer is, To think and act rightly. The first rules for right thinking and conduct are found in the Ten Commandments of Moses, the Beatitudes of Jesus, and the Lord's Prayer. The Commandments warn us against evil thinking, including disobedience, untruthfulness, covetousness, hatred. The Beatitudes show the rewards of right thinking—mercy, purity, right desires, meekness, peaceableness. By understanding and using the Lord's Prayer one is able to cleanse and protect one's consciousness from false beliefs and realize one's connection with unerring divine Mind, the source of all right ideas. By entertaining thoughts that are right, and refusing thoughts that are wrong, one finds one's self always in conscious communication with God, and the divine counsel is then constantly with him.

The particular human occupation which one chooses may not be so important as the spirit in which he follows it. The principal thing about any position is the opportunity it offers for one to express man's God-given abilities. There is never a time, place, or circumstance where God's nature cannot be expressed. It may not be humanly possible to know very far in advance what one's occupation is to be, but it is possible and essential to know that, wherever one is, one will always be able to love good, serve God, and express eternal Life. One's first business, always, is to be a real witness to God and man, "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed." One's work of being a lawyer, a teacher, or a carpenter must be modeled according to that.

As growth goes on, it may be necessary for one to change his occupation. In such a case it will be well for him if his thoughts and affections are not so tied to the old that he cannot put on the new. If he has regarded the expression of God's power and intelligence as the real heart and substance of his calling, the change will be easy and natural to him.

Essentially, then, one does not choose his calling, he follows the divine calling; for every man, woman, and child is called of God to go forth and express His infinite goodness, power, love, and beauty. This means putting God first in his thoughts, his affections, and his desires, and bringing all human activities into subjection to that Christly ideal. Blessed, indeed, is he who learns this lesson early, for it leads to happiness, success, and limitless growth.

In her first address in The Mother Church, May 26, 1895 (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 110), our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, gave to all adherents of Christian Science, including the young people, the following inspired counsel: "Beloved children, the world has need of you,—and more as children than as men and women: it needs your innocence, unselfishness, faithful affection, uncontaminated lives. You need also to watch, and pray that you preserve these virtues unstained, and lose them not through contact with the world. What grander ambition is there than to maintain in yourselves what Jesus loved, and to know that your example, more than words, makes morals for mankind!"

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