Years ago, a young man met me and said this; “I envy someone like you, you have already entered your calling and are fulfilling it. I am just a businessman and hope to be in my calling someday.” I responded; “Don’t hope to be in your calling someday, pursue your calling as a businessman, and give your best to it. Don’t be ashamed of your calling.”
Friend, don’t be ashamed of your calling. Truly, no calling is higher than another. Every calling in God is a high calling (Philippians 3:14). It is our pursuit of the same that would determine how high it would end. Rather than envy other people’s calling or wishing to be like them, pursue your own calling and be your best in it (Colossians 4:17).
We all have a calling. We are saved and called. It is our calling that necessitated our salvation (2 Timothy 1:9). Like Apostle Paul, you need to ask; “Lord, what would you have me do?” It is the pursuit of that calling that helps you to maximize the purpose of your salvation (Acts 9:6). What are you going to do with the call of God on your life (Acts 26:19)?
Basically, God calls people in the areas of family, governance, and ministry (church work). The reason it seems only pastors are called is because it’s pastors that see their work as a calling. A businessman, called into governance, should also see his work as a calling while a school teacher should see his or her role in family as a calling.
A high calling with a low commitment would still equal a failure (2 Peter 1:10). God gives you time and opportunities to pursue and invest in your calling, but what you do with such is what determines how you would end. It is the seed of commitment you sow today that would bring harvest of fulfilment tomorrow (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Don’t be ashamed of your calling (Philippians 1:20). Whether you choose to pursue the call of a pastor and your friends end up in the oil and gas industry is not the issue. It is the kind of pastor you become that matters. That you pursue business must not make you feel less than someone who is in politics. Invest in your calling so you can get to the height primed for you by God.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria