Surviving the rat race

After working in a company for about 12 years I decided to change companies. It became one of the most stressful decision that I ever made. I used all the decision making tools that I knew and it got me thinking a lot about my career. I went back to looking at the different assignments in my job that made me happy or make me feel satisfied. There was something that was common to all these tasks: they played to my strengths, there was an underlying mission bigger than the job (more like a calling), I was doing it because I wanted to glorify God. At that time I was not able to articulate this so clearly but today when I was sitting to prepare to discuss about careers the three points just stood out clearly.

Believe that we are uniquely created for our career

Ephesians 2:10 - “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

A while back I was browsing the web and I came upon an interesting article. It talked about how every one in the world is getting specialized to the extent that we will be incompetent more things than the things they are competent in. When I look at my life it became obvious that the only thing that I am competent in is at doing my work and everything else I outsource. I outsource the building the house I live in, teaching my kids, etc. I have also noticed that because of the fact that each person is unique each of them have unique needs and some one else is able to meet those needs. For e.g when I was looking for a school for my daughter I realised that there are cars that offer the differing trade offs: More studious schools, More religious schools, Focus on well rounded educaiton, etc. The same kind of thing can be observed in cars, routers (:-)), etc. That brings me back to the verse above, that is each one of us is uniquely created for a purpose. Because of the nature of the dependencies and the need for specialization there could easily be a special purpose for the 6 billion people in the world. So each of us are uniquely created for a special purposes. This is done by the place we are born in, the experience that we are exposed, the kind of education, etc. We are in the arms of the master craftsman being molded for the special purpose. In spiritual life there is always God's plan and then there is the counter strategy from Satan. It is very interesting to watch the interplay. If God designs you to be unique with your own special skills, etc. Satan's game plan is to build stereotypes and make you beleive that you are destined to do something because everybody else does it. Often times we end up trying to do that and we end up resisting God's plan and over all ending up frustrated.

Treat your career as a calling
Colossians 3:23 - “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men".

I was watching a movie called 3:10 to Yuma and there is this guy who is a cook in the army during the civil war. He gets injured in a kitchen accident and has a permanent limp in his leg. He however feels ashamed of it and feels that he needs to do something heroic to impress his kid. Often times we do not think that our career choices are God's plan or calling. We just equate calling to only certain types of professions like a minister, missionary, probably a doctor. Just like in an army, God's kingdom needs people with all sorts of skills. If it was in God's plan that when he comes the second time that the whole world will see him at the same time. Then there needs to be engineers, etc. who need build networks through which it can be broadcast to the whole world. An army is a classic example of the kind of support staff that is necessary to support the front line. This is the world view that is going to liberate us from the curse of the Garden of Eden. Lets now look at the kind of behavior this kind of an world view is going to provide:
1. Its no more just a job, it is a calling. So there is no key milestones in your career that you need to hit. It is a place where you are learning the skills to fullfill your calling. So the measurement is in the skills you pick up and not the level or the title you reach.
2. The goals are at the level of God. Often times there comes a guy who is on a mission to do something beyond the regular job. For e.g. there was a guy who was on a mission to solve the IP address shortage problem, or the problem of secure software, etc. These are the guys who are passionate and talk with conviction and are willing to do anything to get to the goals. It enables you to set goals beyond your company, etc.
3. Now that it is a calling you can tap into the infinite wisdom of God for answers to issues at work. It is no more your problem. This would reduce your stress a lot.

Do your job to Glorify God

Matthew 5:16 - “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and praise your Father in heaven.”

It is often felt that the job is done primarily to pay the bills. The primary motivation for most people is making money. This is what causes us to get stereotyped. You are always looking for the career that pays the most. You are not looking for the job that God has wired you for. So why do we then do it. We do it to glorify God. We will never be able to be a testimony for God at work unless we do our work sincerely. For e.g a cop who takes bribe will never be able to talk to his colleagues about God. This is because our beleif in God has not made us differrent. When Joseph was in prison, every body else noticed the difference. When Daniel was working for the persian king every body noticed the difference. If you are doing it for the right reasons people will notice it and that will give you the opportunity to minister to them.