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At times we think that Christians should aspire to "Christian careers" like working at a church or in a parachurch ministry. We may realize that Christians can also work outside the walls of the c...
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As followers of Christ Jesus, we live our lives all for Him. He is the purpose in our life. He is the reason we are alive. All other things are vain. Ecclesiastes 1:2, Ecclesiastes 12:8 1 Corinthians 10:31 says "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" Collosians 3 says, "And whatsoever ye do, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." A later verse in the same chapter says, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ." Thus, it makes sense to chose a career that honors our Lord. So we all have to be ministers and pastors, right? No. Many other careers are honoring to God. Christians can be doctors (help other people), judges and lawyers (peacemakers Matthew 5:9), artists, writers, musicians, and so many other things. There are, of course, several careers Christians should avoid. For instance, Christians should not be models: models cannot control the types of clothes they are forced to model, and Christians should not be modeling worldly, provocative clothing. The same goes for designers. Christians should probably avoid all careers in the fashion field, because life is more than raiment and pleasing others. I think Christians should not be involved in the military. The world is at such a state now that it is close to impossible to avoid violence. Also, I think that Christian women should be homemakers if possible. Titus 2:3-5. For those of you who would like to be involved in politics: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:1-4) In the end, then, the matter of choosing a career for yourself is a personal decision. You should spend time praying and asking God to lead you in your life. He has the ability to decide what kind of job you should have. Ask Him to tell you what He wants you to do in life.
We Jesus Followers, anxious to be in God's will, have received some wise advice from others on this important topic for both young people and working adults. The New Covenant seems to make clear that a Follower of Jesus can follow, prayerfully, any career into which their heart and Holy Spirit leads us …provided the career does not violate the clear commandments of God. However, those clear, career-prohibitory commands include those that could cause us to use violence or to take a human life. Jesus spells out indirectly, but clearly, these prohibited careers in Matthew 5:38-48. He does when we truly believe that Jesus meant what He said and said what He meant when He spoke with using hyperbole. If one is being led by Holy Spirit, it's hard to explain away as hyperbole ten verses of core New Covenant teaching, directly from our Master. Therefore, Jesus Followers would be wise not to involve themselves in careers such as a prison or organizational guard, a police person, a member of military, or a federal judge or law making politician. God loves business and most careers excluding those involving violence or the potential taking of a life and other prohibited ones. We Jesus Followers, therefore have a huge range of Biblically-supportable career options. So we can let the state and people in the world do the job, which is outlined in Romans 13:1-7, of protecting us! Jesus Followers must not buy into the sins inherent in believing in "The Twin Demonic Myths" taught by many Christians in the West …"The Myth of The Just War" plus The Myth of the Christian Nation". Both these myths are totally unsupportable by even a single Scripture in the New Covenant. On the other side of the coin there are a great many that condemn both myths …despite what many traditional churches teach. For those of you who are shocked at what I write above, let me ask you a question to meditate on. If the majority of Christians in Germany, prior to 1939, had not served in Hitler's armies, and non-violently resisted, in Christ, his obvious violence early enough, as some did, who would the Allies have had to fight against? However, if a Jesus follower feels led by God to join the military, or is ever conscripted, s(he) could do so as a conscientious objector. There are many non-violent, non-gun-carrying rolls in the military …provided there is a legal exception to the "boot camp" portrayed in the movies. Nonetheless, New Covenant Scripture does make clear that we are aliens and foreigners in our neighborhoods where we live. It says we are citizens of the Kingdom of God …already, not just when we die... not of the countries in which Jesus has placed us at any time. Blessings all!
As a Christian choosing a career cannot always be so straightforward. For example, can a Christian 1. sell or dispense the abortion drug? 2. Be in charge of a lab which detects foetal abnormalities thereby helping doctors and parents decide whether an abortion should be performed? 3. Work in a hotel dishing out alcoholic beverages? I was confronted with point 2 at one stage and turned down a lab job.
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