A Job and a Calling Are Different. Don't Get Them Confused in Your Life.

Gary North

A job is different from a calling. A job puts food on the table. It pays the bills. A calling is the most important thing you can do in this life in which you would be most difficult to replace.

Jesus was a carpenter until He was 30 years old. Then he left that line of work for the sake of His calling.

Millions of people have heard of the Apostle Paul. His lectures and his letters to local churches changed the world. But he took no money for this work -- deliberately (I Corinthians 9:13-15). Then what did he do for a living? Few people know. He made tents (Acts 18:3).

Socrates and Jesus gave up their day jobs for the sake of their callings. Paul kept his day job. It funded his calling.

Very few people's jobs are also their callings. Preachers and teachers are examples. A few artists make a living by pursuing their callings. But when the money rolls in, what happens to the calling? Is Oprah Winfrey's calling chatting to people in front of a camera? Or is it making plans to give away her billions?

Bill Gates switched from his job/calling -- Microsoft -- to a new calling: giving away his money. His wife was instrumental in this shift of focus.

Warren Buffett thinks his calling is his job: increasing the number of digits (money) by means of adding value: -- buying low and rarely selling. After his death, his executor will turn over his digits to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

What about you? What is your calling? What is your job?

How to they interact?
How do you balance them: money and time?
Which will be your legacy? To whom?
Which will you be remembered for (if either)?
Which would you prefer to be remembered for? When did you identify your calling?
What evidence have you accumulated regarding it?
If you died today, who would recognize it? Why?

This department is dedicated to helping people identify their callings, pursue them effectively, and fund them.