Do you enjoy your present vocation, or is it something you continue to do because it's familiar, somewhat safe, and sufficient to pay the bills? Is that a good enough reason to continue doing what you're doing, or do you occasionally find yourself daydreaming about taking your life in a different direction - a direction that's more in line with your calling?
I'm friends with a man who has spent the past two decades teaching at a Christian college in the midwest. He's a gifted teacher and communicator, but over the years, it has started to become clear to him that his real calling is to write. On the side, he started writing books, then other people started to reach out to him for assistance writing their own books. Eventually, some of his high-profile business clients actually began hiring him to ghostwrite books for them, which he was happy to do.
In time, he developed a membership for budding writers to join, and dozens of people signed up to learn from him. Between his ghostwriting clients and his monthly membership, it started to become clear to him that if he wanted to, he could make a career transition that was more in line with his calling. The only problem was that doing so didn't feel safe. His work as a college professor felt secure, but going out on his own didn't.
What would you have done if you were him?
Just recently, he looked at his situation and realized that he didn't want to spend the rest of his life doing something that no longer matched what he felt most gifted to do. So he submitted his resignation letter to the college and decided to invest himself fully in his writing business. As a result, his business is growing, he has more time for his wife and family, and many of his peers are seeking his counsel because they're trying to get up enough courage to one day follow his example.
There's a path in this world that seems predictable and safe. It's the path most people are choosing. They choose that path in their vocation and they may even choose that path in regard to their spiritual life. In the meantime, that predictable and "safe" path begins to show how limited it really is because there's one thing it can't do for you. It can't stretch your faith.
Few people would be willing to choose the path my friend chose, even if it became clear to them that that's exactly what God wanted them to do. What about us? Would we listen to the voice of God if He started leading us in an unfamiliar direction? Would we dare to do what others wouldn't do?
Paul faced a similar dilemma, and he told us a lot about it in 1 Corinthians 9.
I. Be willing to sacrifice your rights to make the most of your privileges.
““This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?””
When Paul was engaged in the work of his ministry, he faced a considerable amount of challenges. He was challenged by hostile people in a hostile culture. He was also routinely questioned by those who should have eagerly supported the work he was doing. Paul was also highly conscious of the fact that everything he did might become a pattern that church leaders and evangelists would copy. He also wanted to make sure his decisions didn't get in the way of the gospel being received by unbelieving people.
With this in mind, Paul chose to forego making use of some of his rights. He had the right to earn an income from the work he was doing to serve the church, but he didn't make use of that right. He had the right to be married, but he chose to remain single so he would have more time to preach and disciple. He made a regular habit of sacrificing his rights in order to make the most of the privilege to preach the gospel, plant churches, and train other leaders.
I love seeing that mindset on display in these passages. I find it truly inspiring. So often in life, we're tempted to throw a fit when we don't get our own way. Frequently, we get upset when we feel like we aren't getting what we deserve. But Paul took a different approach. The Lord was allowing him to see the bigger picture of what was going on. Paul became convinced that in the long run, it was worth it for him to resist insisting on his rights. He gave most of those things up so he could spend his time and his energy making the most of his privilege to help others come to know Jesus, and he kept that grander goal in mind throughout the course of his ministry.
II. Become so devoted to your calling that it would violate your conscience to abandon it.
““But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!””
How would you finish this sentence, "I will feel guilty if I don't devote my life to ....." Have you been gifted to do something specific? Has the Lord been opening up doors for you to accomplish something for His glory?
If you asked Paul to finish that sentence, he would tell you that his conscience would be troubled if he stopped preaching the gospel. He knew without doubt that this is what Jesus had called him to do. Discomfort couldn't stop him. Poverty couldn't prevent him. Imprisonment couldn't shut him up. The only thing that seemingly stopped him was execution, but all that really did was demonstrate the depth of his convictions and validate the many things he wrote about in the New Testament. Now those words are proclaimed from pulpits all throughout the world.
I still remember the first time I was asked to preach a sermon. I was so nervous about doing so ahead of time, but once I had the opportunity to do so, I knew the Lord had shown me what He wanted me to do with my life. He wanted me to share the gospel, teach His word, and communicate the hope we have in Jesus through every means He made available to me. He has given me the privilege to do so from pulpits, on the radio, through podcasts, and through the written word. My conscience echoes Paul's statement, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!"
Has the Lord been making your calling clear to you? Are you devoted to that mission? Would it be a violation of your conscience for you to forsake or abandon that calling?
III. Your calling is a stewardship that you've been blessed to share.
““For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.” ”
I was recently invited to speak at a church that has been in decline for several decades. They openly say that the glory days of that ministry were many years ago. As I met with their leaders, one of the things I reminded them of was the fact that they were the temporary stewards of that ministry. The church belongs to Jesus, and He has graciously allowed them to be the ones who oversee that ministry for a temporary period of time. Other leaders came before them, and by God's grace, new leaders will come after them.
The opportunities we're given, the talents we've been blessed with, and the gifts we've been supernaturally equipped with are a temporary stewardship. Paul could see that his ability to make the gospel known was a stewardship he had been entrusted with. Do you see your calling as a stewardship as well? It's a stewardship you've been blessed to share with others.
Paul didn't demand his right to earn an income from the work he was doing, even though he actually deserved one. Knowing the broader ramifications of the ministry that he was doing during the specific era of history he was serving in, he realized it would be better for everyone if he chose not to demand that income. Once he made peace with that concept in his mind, he took great joy in presenting the gospel free of charge.
As you and I operate as obedient stewards of our calling, we can adopt this same attitude. We may be tangibly rewarded for the work we do, or we may not be, but that's not the greater point. Jesus taught us that it's better to give than it is to receive, so let's be generous about sharing what He has gifted us to share.
IV. There's a side of life that you'll only see once you serve someone else.
“ “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.””
They say that serving others always sounds glamorous right up to the point when someone actually starts treating you like a servant. I think that's true. Servanthood really isn't a glamorous mindset, but it is a good one. There's a side of life you'll only see once you start serving someone else.
Have you ever noticed the change that occurs in a person's life once they have children? It changes someone to have to spend every waking hour focusing on the health, safety, and development of another person. It produces a new level of maturity and it can strip away remaining areas of selfishness if they haven't been previously removed.
The Lord was teaching Paul what it means to have a heart of a servant. That's why Paul was able to say that he was willing to be a servant to all people. He wanted to win them over to Christ, so he was willing to sacrifice his preferences, and humble himself in uncomfortable ways in order to do so.
Any idea why was he willing to do this? He was willing to do this because that's exactly what Jesus had done for him. When we observe the ministry of Jesus, we see Jesus doing what no one else would do or could do. Jesus lived the perfect life because we couldn't. Jesus died on the cross to atone for our sin because He was the only one without sin of His own. Jesus rose from the grave to secure the victory over death that He graciously shares with all who trust in Him. He did what others wouldn't do, and did what others couldn't do.
Understanding what Jesus has done for us is life-altering. Paul's life and attitude were changed by the work of Christ. Our lives will be changed as well. Are we still trying to hand God our excuses, or is our faith strong enough for us to dare to do what others simply won't?
© John Stange, 2021
