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Job, Career, or Calling?

Angela Duckworth, in her book Grit:  The Power and Passion of Perseverance, shares this story:

“When three bricklayers were asked what they were doing, they responded with the following answers: The first replied that he was laying bricks. The second replied that he was building a church. The third replied that he was building the house of God.  The different responses given by the bricklayers show that the first bricklayer saw his occupation as a job, the second saw it as a career, whereas the third saw it as a calling. People who describe their occupation as a calling are grittier than those who consider their work a career or job."

According to Duckworth, “grit” is the ability to stay with something and develop a high level of competence in that activity.  Those who are “grittier” stay with the activity or position even when the going gets rough.

Those of us in the church don’t talk about calling as much as we once did.  Part of the problem is that we often connected “calling” exclusively with a leading into vocational ministry.  If one was called, he or she was going to become a minister, missionary, or Christian worker.  We never talked about calling to a secular vocation or service to people outside the walls of the church.

Unfortunately, I have talked with ministry leaders on rare occasions who thought of their work simply as a job or a career rather than a calling.  They had lost the spark of their calling and were just putting in the hours.  The more self-aware people in this group often returned to the core of their calling and identified those values that led them to ministry in the first place, finding a way to live out their authentic calling in another role such as not-for-profit work, counseling, health care, or some other people helping profession.

If we take Duckworth’s comments seriously, we must find ways to align our values with our calling in such a way that we will have both the power and the passion to persevere in our work.  God has wired each of us up in such a way that when values, gifts, and passion are aligned, we will see what we do as a true calling and not just a job or career.

Perhaps this is a good day to think about which bricklayer you tend to be.




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