There is a word I struggle with. Well, when you live and work in a country where you don’t speak the language, there are actually a lot of words you struggle with, but this word is different. I can pronounce it and I understand the meaning of it, so that is not the problem. Actually it is not the word as such I struggle with. It is the context in which I am confronted with the word that is the problem.
The word? Career and the context is when it is used in connection with officership. I hear it in talks and conversations, and I read it in papers, but no matter where or how often I hear it, I am not comfortable with the combination. Actually I would suggest that ‘officer career’ is an oxymoron. You can have one or the other, but not both.
In its most simple form I suppose ‘career’ could be understood as ‘occupation’ even ‘ life-long occupation’ and as such there should be no problem with using it in connection with being an officer. The issue I struggle with is that most time the use implies more. According to the Oxford Dictionary career can be defined as: “An occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress”. It is with the ‘with opportunity for progress’ I struggle. Another definition stresses that the progress usually involves ‘more responsibility as time passes.’">
Often, when career is used, it is about planning your future, it is about progressing, it is about going from one position to another with more responsibility, and probably also more influence, power and status. It is, in other words, about me; me progressing, developing, achieving, obtaining status and so on.
And this is what I struggle with. Whenever it is about me, when the focus is on me, when I end up as the centre of attention, then Jesus has been pushed to the margins. He is no longer the central reference point; he is not in charge, but rather just someone I can refer to as I develop my career. That is not compatible with officership as I understand it.
We don’t have a career. We don’t have a job. We don’t even have a ministry. All we have is a call. A call to follow Jesus, to be and do what he wants us to be and do. And the difference between career and calling is, that when it comes to the call, then it is him, who calls that is central. It is not my call, it is his call – to me. My ‘career’, my life destiny is only to follow and be grateful that he at all wants me anywhere close to him. I know I am not worthy of it, but by grace he has qualified me to serve him (2. Cor. 3:5).
While there is absolutely nothing wrong in developing our competencies and capacity then the focus should not be on developing for our own sake, but to be able to make better investments in the Kingdom of God. We don’t seek to develop ourselves to obtain anything for ourselves, but to be more useful to him who calls us. The goal is Kingdom development, not personal achievements or recognition.
The call to follow Jesus is of course not limited to officers. All Christians are called – called to follow Jesus wherever that might take us and whatever that will mean. And as such none of us should primarily pursue a career, but seek to follow Jesus in whatever position that has brought us to. We should all hold possessions and positions lightly, submitted to the call of Jesus. Just as I am not primarily an officer, but a disciple, living out his call to follow Jesus in officership, you are not primarily a nurse, but a disciple, living our your call to follow Jesus in nursing, or teaching, or by sitting at the till at Tesco.
We are all called to follow Jesus, to be his disciples. Some of us will be disciples disguised as officers, others disguised as builders, managers, shop assistants and a multitude of other professions. Our career, if we are going to use that word, will however be the same: Followers of Jesus, servants living to please our master and totally at his disposal, rejoicing that he has found us worthy to share his fellowship and join with him in his mission.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/career?q=Career 2016-03-06
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/learner/career 2016-03-06