Vocation

Ben Podnar 

24 January 2011
Professors Ribeiro and Ribeiro
Developing a Christian Mind C.S. Lewis

Vocation

Disclaimer: This essay will be an expansion on a point I have previously made about vocation. Looking back on all of the topics we have covered in this class, I feel that it is the most applicable, and that I will learn the most from putting things together in order to learn more about it. Some of the work will be copied from the original post if I feel that it is up to the standard of this essay, other parts of it will be rewritten, and others thrown out. Attempting to integrate every piece of information that has been read over the course of interim to an essay about vocation would be cluttering, so instead only relevant topics will be used.

As Christians we love the idea of “vocation.” This puts the name to what we are all searching for: a way that we can productively work with our abilities to help God with his plan here on earth. This is our meaning in life. A message I heard at Mars Hill in Michigan recently, was that all of life is going to be washed away when God comes back, all creation, all everything; all that will be left, is us. How true can that point be? Where do we find any use in anything after a message like that? I would like to debate with the pastor on this issue, that the way he presented things left no room for a useful vocation. God wills to use us in our lives for the purpose of converting others to his name. When we see a piece of artwork as something that is neat for one moment, but that will inevitably be destroyed, we are seeing this in the wrong light. That piece, will be one miniscule part of the way another person formulates how they think about the world. What we do in this world is not done for an immediate visual, but instead for the effect it has on people. People are the things that will be left in the end. When God comes to wash away everything, we will still be here. Vocation is finding a place in this world through which God can use you to affect other people; we can learn about it through C.S. Lewis' essays, Calvin College's programs, and Plantinga's writings.

God wants us all to do our part in creation. He has specific plans for everyone, and that leads to us playing roles in his kingdom. The way that we approach those roles will strongly be affected by how we understand things around us. Do we look at or along them? C.S. Lewis in “Meditation in a Toolshed” describes the ideas of at and along. Looking at something is like looking at a Native American doing a rain dance, and seeing it from the critical perspective of how little it may actually affect the weather around him. Looking along something is like looking through the standpoint of that Native American, feeling as if there is a complete power that is coursing through, in order to bring rain the next year.

In order to find what our vocations are, we need to be willing to look both at and along things. Because, as C.S. Lewis mentions, we can never completely remove ourselves from the equation, we have to make sure to look at if from all possible perspectives within it. What this will give is the clarity of any issue, by making sure that you are feeling each perspective, you are gaining a clear pathway for what your decision should be. God's guidance is not always clear or easy to follow. Generally it is quite surreptitious, but still we have to try to find it in whatever ways we can. Making sure we are looking for our vocations, but not completely devoting ourselves to it is important, because it could in turn become a vice. A vocation is an opportunity that comes to you, and by preparing yourself through opening your mindset and being prepared for it, you can hop right on the train riding on tracks forged in the direction they are meant to be.

Vocation is Calvin College's favorite word. Yes, that is a bold statement, but let us think about how coming to such a conclusion makes sense. To start with, we have all of the beginning of the year quest orientation, in which you are ensured that you have time to, but need to choose your vocation. Then students are moved on to Prelude in which they are taught a lot about integrating faith, school, and a liberal arts education. All of which end up pointing to vocation. I would say all the talk of vocation actually is helpful to the average student, but that does not change my initial point. Vocation is the word of Calvin.

From Quest I have learned that vocation is not definite. God does not always say "This is what you will be doing for the rest of your life." It is very rarely as simple as that. When in a meeting with most of the sociology and social work professors, they went around the room explaining where they had all been before teaching at Calvin. The variety of each one was immense. There really was no framework for them to follow, each took a unique path. If we choose to follow, God may not lead us down a direct path, but He will take us to where we should be.

From Prelude I have learned that vocation is something that needs faith and prayer. Faith is sort of a given in vocation. That is, our "destined position in the future" is based on our faith in God. Faith is hard though, and sometimes prayers don't seem to be answered. But praying is a necessity in this equation. Learning to pray to God for guidance and advice is key. Prayers are often indirect communication, but sometimes are even a direct way that God will talk to us, telling us where to go.

In the concluding parts of Developing a Christian Mind, we heard Prof. L. Smit closing off the last introductory course to Calvin. To focus on one specific point, she talked about how to gauge our work. Using the following graph, there are two possible options for the wrong ways of using or not using the gifts God gave you. Option A2 is to not challenge yourself enough based on your skill level; option A3 is to challenge yourself too hard for your skill level. 

In order to do things the way God intended, we have to work to our potential. That does not include pushing ourselves to anxiety, or letting ourselves slip into boredom, but rather finding a spot in the “Flow Channel” in which we are challenged to our skill's potential.

Plantinga in “Engaging God's World” clearly writes that as images of God we have responsibilities (those being vocations), but that they should learn to coexist with those of other Christians. We should not be easily broken standpoints that bend to the will of those around us, but with discernment at our sides, we should use each vocation as one small part of a gigantic web. This means two things.

Firstly, we have to find our own kingdom. This is another way of talking about our vocation. Our kingdom is what we have been given stewardship over. God gives us each responsibilities in order to better serve his kingdom. These responsibilities can change over time, and we have to be prepared for them to, but not weaken our grasp on what is currently our responsibility. We have to find the balance between maintaining control of what we already have, while being ready to move on to further new roles we may be given.

Secondly, we have to find how our kingdom connects to those around us. It can be very easy to become a tyrant of any situation. Those who are used to power often seek it. Christians must defend themselves from these habits. A man who assumes power of his own accord is taking something that is not necessarily his. This can be destructive to others. Like in the renaissance when there were Kings, Lords, Vassals, and Peasants, there are also different levels of kingdom and many of the same level. If one Lord were to assume control over more than his share of vassals, then there very likely would be an outbreak of war, and this is clearly not the shalom that Christians strive for. Learning to incorporate discernment into how we interact with other kingdoms is essential for God's kingdom to work properly.

In conclusion, while it may be an arduous journey to find our vocations, and then to uphold them, and even still to maintain them in harmony with those around us, it is what we are called to do. We are servants of God, and with that comes responsibilities of work here on earth. No vocation is more important than the one next to it, nor any less subject to change. God may send us different directions in life, we just have to be prepared to go where he sends us, and do work happily with the knowledge that there is a destination in all of it. It is time to stop thinking of vocations as career paths, and start to see them as organic journeys into a colossal network created by God.



Works Cited

Csikszentmihalyi Mihaly, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (NY: Harper & Row 1990)

Lewis, C.S. Meditation in a Toolshed. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2011. <http://www.calvin.edu/~pribeiro/DCM-Lewis-2009/Lewis/meditation-in-a-toolshed.pdf>.

Plantinga, Cornelius. Engaging God's World. Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002. Print.