The Role of Vocation

I was asked a question about the general role of vocation. As a Christian, how should I use my vocation? Is it OK to have a non-great-commission job? Here's a first cut at an answer.

Is it OK to have a non-great-commission job? Absolutely. Not only is it OK, but it is necessary for most people. There might be one-half of one percent of the population who are pastors and full-time Christian workers in any denomination. This means that the vast majority of people will have "regular" jobs. However, it may be that if you are asking yourself that question, you should dig a little deeper. Are you gifted for ministry? Would it be better stewardship of those gifts if you entered full-time ministry? Do you desire to be in ministry?

Assuming for the moment that you confirm your place in a secular vocation, how can you use your job as a Christian?

1. Be an excellent employee: hard working, reliable, honest, timely, skillful and growing in skill.
2. Be a witness on the job: show and tell your faith to others.
3. While avoiding greed, seek to excel to earn more that you may use to give to the Lord's work.
4. Do not allow the job to take you away from family and church and ministry. A common mistake is for a husband to take a job in which he is often traveling away from his wife.
5. Take seriously the negative effect that the workplace may have on you. Are your co-workers especially lewd and coarse? Is alcohol served in this job? Does the job demand that you miss Sunday and mid-week meetings at church? It's probably time to find another job in such cases.
6. If you are in a place of influence in a company or policy-making role, think about how Christian values can be plugged into your policies and practices. They need not be called out by chapter and verse, but somehow include them in how you do business.
7. Use your job as a way to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31).