Work

Spot the difference...

Fishers of Men

Water to mine

Stones to bread

Law and Grace 

Love and Marriage / Horse and Carriage

Usually a person should keep on with the work he was doing when God called him. 

Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but of course, if you get a chance to be free, take it. If the Lord calls you, and you are a slave, remember that Christ has set you free from the awful power of sin; and if he has called you and you are free, remember that you are now a slave of Christ. You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears. So, dear brothers, whatever situation a person is in when he becomes a Christian, let him stay there, for now the Lord is there to help him.

1 Corinthians 7:20-24

Calling of Matthew

As Jesus was going on down the road, he saw a tax collector, Matthew, sitting at a tax collection booth. “Come and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him, and Matthew jumped up and went along with him. Later, as Jesus and his disciples were eating dinner at Matthew’s house, there were many notorious swindlers there as guests! The Pharisees were indignant. “Why does your teacher associate with men like that?” “Because people who are well don’t need a doctor! It’s the sick people who do!” was Jesus’ reply. Then he added, “Now go away and learn the meaning of this verse of Scripture, ‘It isn’t your sacrifices and your gifts I want—I want you to be merciful.’ For I have come to urge sinners, not the self-righteous, back to God.”

Matthew 9:9-13

Jesus invited Matthew, the man of finance, the tax collector to be his disciple, his friend. Matthew was despised and no doubt a lonely man. Of all the likely candidates to be the group’s treasurer, it was Matthew. But the job was given to Judas. The Lord is gracious and kind, he didn’t make Matthew the treasurer. But would things have turned out better if Matthew had taken the job. He may have had doubts because of his past but Jesus had forgiven him. Paul’s point is correct - Usually a person should keep on with the work he was doing when God called him.

God had given each one of us gifts and talents to do certain 

things well. But in our jobs, sometimes we can get burdened with problems, stressed, worn out. Sometimes our bosses ask us to do something we don’t feel comfortable with. We don’t enjoy our work. So the chef doesn’t want to cook at home even though he is the best qualified. But someone else has to step up and that person may not necessarily be that great at it. The Lord loves them for being willing but he must get frustrated when he sees the one who he has gifted refusing!

However, neither does the Lord want us stressed to the maximum doing something that we are not gifted for. I had a friend in Youth Group who told us that God wanted him to be a rock star. Needless to say, it didn’t eventuate. Nothing wrong with our hopes and dreams but it has to be connected to reality.

The calling of Peter and Andrew, James and John

One day as Jesus was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew fishing with nets, for they were commercial fishermen. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me! And I will make you fishermen for the souls of men!” At once they left their nets and went along with him. A little farther up the beach, he saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat mending their nets. He called them too, and immediately they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went with him.

Mark 1:16-20

Here there was a connection. These men knew how to catch fish. Now they were to catch men. 

God has called you to be a missionary? Then take your gifts and talents with you and build your mission around that. When we were young our family used to go for our holidays to stay at a bach belong to a doctor and his family. He and his wife were overseas working doctors in Haiti where God had called them. But they kept their bach in New Zealand and generously allowed anyone to go and stay there free of charge. I used to love looking at the visitors book, it was such a great place to go for a holiday. So in fact the whole church benefitted from their mission work. Those in Haiti and those left behind in New Zealand. The connection was maintained.

Of course I am not saying to stay in a job if it is bad for you, if there is a more suitable alternative. If your health is suffering - physical or mental - and it lasts longer than a holiday can fix, then it may be time to change.

But there is purpose in persevering through suffering because it will build your character. Daniel had to persevere as administrator of Babylon when he was doing a great job, he was exactly where he was meant to be already.