GAINESVILLE, Ga. (BP)–If I were to say to you, “Tell me what it is that you do best,” what would be your response? Now, if I asked, “What is it that you like to do most?” would your answer be the same? Different? Not sure?
Well, at Crown, we believe that God — our Creator — has a unique purpose for us to fulfill, something often referred to as our “calling” or “vocation,” and that He has “wired” you and me with what we need to accomplish it.
In Psalm 139, David affirms this when he says: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
Have you discovered what your “calling” is in life and work?
If you’re not sure, that’s OK. I find that the majority of people are unsure of their calling. But the same people often find that they are doing work that just doesn’t suit them, and that can lead to job dissatisfaction, conflicts, stress or boredom. And those can lead to poor performance, being overlooked for advancement, or, even worse — unemployment.
So, how is it that so many people are mismatched in their work? Let me give you a couple of primary reasons:
1. They haven’t yet discovered their true calling, and
2. When seeking what type of work to pursue, they allow the salary or earning potential to become the primary factor in their work decisions.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can discover your purpose and calling, and you can embark on a path doing the work that God has “wired” you to do. And, when you’re in the center of your purpose and calling, you can confidently rely on God to meet your financial needs no matter what He’s gifted you to do.
YOUR PERSONALITY
The first step is to learn about your personality. There are several good tools available to assess your personality, including our free Crown Money Map Personality I.D. It only takes a few minutes to complete this online profile, but the personal report you receive will pinpoint your personality style and give you a snapshot of your strengths, stress factors, as well as how you tend to view money and money decisions.
I hope you’re beginning to see how discovering your purpose and calling can directly impact your money life. Actually, every area of life is affected to some degree or other by money, whether it involves interpersonal relationships, spending habits, being generous to others — you name it.
YOUR WORK AND MONEY
I believe it’s helpful to think of our jobs — the day-to-day work that we do, our employment — as a subset of our broader calling or vocation. In other words, our jobs should complement our other roles in life, use our strengths and talents, give us personal fulfillment, and allow us to make a living.
So often people get that turned around. They major on building wealth in order to spend it, but usually end up with major frustration instead. Income and lifestyle considerations should not be the primary driver of our work goals. I’m not saying that income isn’t important — we all need money to live. But, the mistake comes when we make money the primary consideration.
CONTENTMENT
Whether you work full-time, part-time, at home, or away from home, and whether you are a business owner, an employee, or a volunteer, your God-inspired goals that drive you toward your life purpose are really what are most important. When you are happily fulfilling your calling, the way you make and use money can become activities filled with contentment and joy.
If you are currently unemployed or in a work situation that is a bad match for you, I encourage you to recommit to discovering and following God’s purpose for you first and foremost. Investigate and pursue His calling on your life, and trust Him to meet your financial needs as you walk in obedience to His will.
Remember, discovering and living out God’s design for your life is a process — part of a lifelong journey. Jesus assures us that we should “not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ … your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:31, 33).
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Chuck Bentley is CEO of Crown Financial Ministries and host of Crown’s MoneyLife radio broadcast. Discover the unbreakable bond between work and money and get your free copy of Crown’s Work Your Money Discovery Kit at www.Crown.org/Discover. If you’d like to follow Crown on Facebook and Twitter, visit Crown.org and click the icons on the right side of the page. Questions? Go to Crown.org and click “Ask Chuck.” Co-founded by Howard Dayton and the late Larry Burkett, Crown Financial Ministries (Crown.org) is an interdenominational ministry with 200 staff and over 10,000 volunteers dedicated to equipping people globally with biblically based financial stewardship tools and resources through radio, film, seminars, small groups and individual coaching.
