Interesting Excerpt from Crosswalk.com

Reflection: I need to remember the difference between a primary calling and secondary. These are interesting words from crosswalk.com about this topic. I do feel like God has called me to my job right now. It is a ministry and a lifestyle. When tempted to go elsewhere for financial reasons, I truly have to remember that for this season, God has called me to teach in a Christian school.

I pray to have an impact today on my younger sisters and brothers in Christ, God. I pray you would give me seeds to plant in their young hearts and to spur them on to you! You are my provider. I trust in you. This world is not eternal. You are eternal and so is your kingdom. I trust in you. Lead me in what to invest here at this school and what to invest in the home. I know the home is part of my primary calling. I pray that you would clearly direct the way the next 3 months to part-time here or full-time. Clearly open and close doors. Lead hearts. Lead mine. Also, I pray for the sweet girl that wants to accept you today and pray that I can follow through on meeting with her. Follow through in leading her into a relationship with you. THIS is what heaven rejoices over. Amen.

Most of us are looking for a calling, not a job," says Nora Watson in her interview for Studs Terkel's classic book Working. "Most of us...have jobs that are too small for our spirit. Jobs are not big enough for people." She compared her job with that of her father, who had felt his work was "a profession of himself" and a calling.

Many people feel trapped in work that provides a paycheck but little else. They find they have little opportunity to use their gifts or do anything that is personally meaningful. Have you reached a point in your life where you know that what you are doing is not enough? Are you looking for your calling rather than settling for just another job?

Understanding Your "Primary Calling" vs. Your "Secondary Callings"

Most of us spend 60% or more of our lives working. The right job can give you opportunities to use your unique gifts and abilities to make a positive difference in the world. Being in the wrong job can be agonizing, affecting every area of your life.

As you seek to find work that is a calling, however, it is important to realize that your work is not your most important calling. There is a critical distinction between your "primary calling" to follow Jesus and your "secondary callings," or life roles, which include your work:

The Bible...reveals that work is not our central calling. There are no biblical examples of someone being called to paid employment.... Before being called to something, we are called to Someone. Before being called to do, we are called to be.

Our primary calling is to be in a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that God has called us into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ....Our primary calling is not tied to our employment.... God values us for who we are, not for what we can produce or achieve within work. God's call to us is an eternal one that encompasses and transcends our temporal activities....

Your work, or vocational calling, is one of your secondary callings.... Your vocational calling is a summons from God to use your gifts in the world, whether it be within paid employment, the home, or volunteer activities. [As Os Guinness says,] "But these and other things are always the secondary, never the primary calling. They are ‘callings' rather than the ‘calling.' They are our personal answer to God's address, our response to God's summons. Secondary callings matter, but only because the primary calling matters most." (Live Your Calling, pp. 5-8)

Therefore, if you are a Christian who is seeking to follow Jesus each and every day, you have already found your most important calling! (For more information about the primary calling, see Your Most Important Callingat www.LiveYourCalling.com.) You can live this calling even if you are unemployed or in work that doesn't fit you well. The more diligently you are seeking to live your primary calling, the more effectively the Lord can guide you in finding your vocational calling (that is, work that fits your gifts and brings a deep sense of purpose and significance.)