When
living as a
citizen in the Kingdom of God, we do not
choose jobs and vocations for the purpose of having an income to
provide for ourselves and our families. Rather, we seek the call of God
on our lives to do what He wants, to be planted where He wants us, to
render the service He has ordained.
These
vocations
will be honorable, righteous, moral and
ethical. It may be a doctor, lawyer, merchant, server, zookeeper, or
homemaker…. In which case, it is God’s job entirely to provide for us
to do what He has called us to do. We do not just go sit on a mountain
somewhere and wait for God to tell us what to do every moment. Rather,
we settle in our spirits that we are in the vocation He has chosen for
us, to accomplish what He wants accomplished in and through us.
To
seek a line of
work for our own provision is doing it
for Self. We will always have to struggle to keep it going. To seek the
Kingdom way is to conquer and hold the ground for God in His Kingdom on
earth. He will be the one to keep it going as long as He needs us to be
where He plants us. Our lives and our provisions will always flow much
cleaner, smoother, and simpler.
We
are not to be
led by the earning potential of the job.
Rather, we desire to be planted in the place of God’s choosing,
trusting Him with our whole lives. He is our provider. He is our
supplier. He is our sufficiency.
He
may choose for
one person to be rich, but the riches
are for the sake of the Kingdom and not for one’s own sake. Do not
apologize for having been given resources. On the other hand, He may
keep another in humble means, but the humble means are of no
consequence to the one with them. Do not apologize for having humble
means. The money should not matter. Doing the Kingdom business should
be all that matters.
We
miss the mark
when we make a difference between people
because of their money or position in life. How dare we think we are
better than another because of our wealth or position. That is the
world’s way. How dare we think we are less than others because of our
humble means. We need to see everyone who is doing the Kingdom business
as a necessary, vital, functioning member of the body of Christ. Dare
we live that way?
August 14, 2010
Charles
Elliott Newbold, Jr