Where are you headed?

My wife recently watched a remake of the movie Fame. (She told me, "You won't like this. Why don't you go do something you'd like?" I have a great wife.) It got me to thinking. The story (as much as I gathered from the other room) is about a school that teaches kids the arts. The goal, obviously, is "Fame". And while the teachers try to expand the kids' understanding of these arts, the goal remained the same: "I wanna live forever." And I had to ask myself, "What kind of goal is that?"

You realize, of course, that it is, in its essence, a purely self-centered goal. It is perhaps one of the most common -- "fame and fortune" -- but it's purely about me. Others may tag their own take onto it, like "power" or some such, but it's still purely selfish. And I got to wondering how many of us are operating on purely selfish goals. Is your job a way to selfish endeavors or is it a vocation -- a calling from God?

When you start considering a career, it is unavoidable that you start with self. That may sound wrong, but it's the way it is. And we who have determined that "self" is always bad haven't been paying attention to the Bible. God commands as the #2 command, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." That makes self love the standard by which you love your neighbor. Paul commanded husbands to love their wives "as their own bodies". He went on to say, "He who loves his wife loves himself" (Eph 5:28). In other words, you start with self love and it is the standard by which you love others. Further, in loving others correctly, you love yourself. And, practically, when you think about it, how can you not start with self when considering a career? You have to consider strengths and weaknesses, inclinations and dislikes, skills and talents -- your own, of course. You see, avoiding being "self-centered" doesn't mean you never consider yourself. It means "in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Phil 2:3-4). Or, "I am significant, but you are more so. I need to care for my own concerns, but I need to care for yours as well." You start with self and work your way out.

The question isn't the starting point. The question is the end point. Where are you headed? I wonder how many of us view our employments as something for someone else.

Imagine, if you will, the young singer who is considering their chance to try out for something like American Idol. Would he or she ever be considering anything but self? Is there the possibility of a goal that would be for the benefit of others? I think we can all be pretty sure that it is not an other-centeredness that pushes young actors and performers into drug and alcohol addictions.

But that career field just makes the question so obvious. Do any of us take a job thinking, "With this position I'll be able to serve others" or "spread the Gospel" or "make a significant impact on the lives of others" or the like? Some careers, I suppose, tend more toward that. A social worker or a pastor would likely approach it that way. But what about a programmer or an airline pilot? What about a janitor or a CEO? What about a washing machine repairman or a banker? Do we take these tasks simply as a means to get what we want, or is it possible to see a vocation, a calling from God to serve others in these roles?

I don't think it's an easy question, but I believe the answer is a given. We are commanded "whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31). Workers are told to render "service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man" (Eph 6:8), operating "as servants of Christ" (Eph 6:6). We are commanded, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Col 3:23). Your job, then, is not a job. It is a calling from God to serve God where you are. You don't work for your boss; you work for Christ. And you're not there to become rich and famous or powerful or even to collect a paycheck. You're there as an ambassador, an evangelist, a minister.

We are not employed; we are called. And when we realize that we are called to serve God where we are, it no longer is self-centered, is it? You may have decided where to be by first considering yourself, but when your goal is love for others and glory to God, it cannot be called selfish. Nor can it be merely called "a job".