Recently I saw a video clip where John Maxwell hosted Steve Harvey and Steve said: "Your career is what you are paid for; your calling is what you are made for." John was so hit by the statement that he asked Steve to repeat himself as he took it down. As I finished seeing the clip, I also gave it a thought and the following thoughts came up:
Look for a way
Why not find a way to make a career out of your calling? Achieving this will make you truly phenomenal in your chosen area. How do I make a career out of my calling? This is a critical question, too.
Know your calling
To answer the question, the first thing to do is to find your calling; to diligently seek to know your calling. What is a calling? A calling is that thing that calls from within you. It is wired into you from the day you were made. Your calling ties your gifts/talents and purpose together.
Gifts/Talents and Purpose
When one is called to do something, that person is called by the Maker. That person is given a gift/talent. The person is called to use that gift. Hence, if you have to know what you are called to do, you have to equally know the tool [gift/talent] to use. By identifying, developing and using your gift/talent, you are living your purpose. Gifts/Talents and Purpose are therefore inseparable. They belong in one box.
It is extremely important, in fact, non-negotiable, for each person to find their calling. Anyone who wants to find peace of mind must discover the fountain of their being. That is what they are called to be and manifest.
Let each person know what they are created to do. Let each person find their calling. If each person knows what it is it that they are called to do, they make life worth living for others. If each person finds their calling and abide in same, we would have a better country and world.
In our country, Nigeria, what seems obvious is that people are in government when they have no business of being there. The question is: What attracted them to government? Is it anything other than the pecuniary benefits? Did service call from within them? Did they thirst to give their lives as they swore to? Will they become blessed or destroyed by the oath they took?
One quality that a person who is called to do something exhibits is contentment. The Trees in Jotham's Parable were satisfied being Olive, Fig and Vine. Only the Bramble left its place to become a king [politician]. And what did it do? It destroyed the Cedars, a most expensive Tree. What are the politicians doing today outside plundering?
If the monthly salaries of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives are slashed to 1.5M and 1M Nairas respectively, would this present crop of legislators and those who are no longer in government be in those chambers? Would they have been in government? This is the question.
The question of calling applies to everyone of us. Not one person is exonerated. We can do better than we are doing presently if we diligently seek our place of natural inclination and abide therein. That is the way to abide in our calling. The idea is not to make money; the idea is to make impact through serving others with what God has given us. It is by reaching deep down into ourselves and bringing out what has been hidden there and emptying it into others. That is what service is all about.
People who know their calling and who abide in their calling are content, devoid of greed and fulfilled. They are selfless because they are sure of their gift and know that it is more than what they have. It has become what they are. And we can never lose what we are.
This is a time for everyone of us to pay attention to the music that sings within us. That song was put in us when we were formed. It is what we are called to do. Our purpose hides there. It is our very life and existence.
