You all know the story. You've heard it in church, perhaps from the pastor or a testimony from another member. "There I was, sitting in my corner office commanding the people of my business, making millions of dollars. Then all of a sudden, BOOM, God says be a pastor. So I quit my job and went to seminary and here I am today." To be honest, this kind of story kind of discouraged me when I was younger. At any moment, I could be doing what I thought was the right thing in life and God would teleport me into a pulpit in the future and expect me to preach.
I always heard about God "calling" people out of business into the ministry, but never the other way around. So I thought, "I'll fix that. I don't want to have to start life over. I'll start out going to be a missionary." In my mind, that was the right decision to make, because all I'd ever heard was that to please God, people left the business world to become a preacher.
In about 10th grade, one of teachers had a private conversation with me because he was concerned I was doing too much to try to please people instead of what was really right. He was right. I was trying to hard to "be cool" and do what everyone wanted me to do. While he may have been specifically talking about my relationships with my friends, it got me thinking. Why do I want to be a missionary? Is it really God's will? Am I doing what God wants or just what others expect?
I can't tell you that you shouldn't be a missionary, a preacher, whatever. I also can't tell you that you should. My problem at the moment was that I wanted to go into the "ministry" for all the wrong reasons. Pleasing my parents, it's expected for Christians, and free golf when I visit churches were just a few. But I missed what should have been the biggest reason. Never in there did I pray about the issue, and at the time I was not even reading the Bible.
The biggest problem people have with trying to know God's will is guessing at what we think He wants us to do while not doing what we know He wants us to do. As we do what we know God's will is, our obedience leads us to the right decisions in life. That was my problem. So I got in the Bible. I found that God's will is to "abstain from fornication" and "in everything give thanks." So i started working on those things. I started praying. And you know what? God "called" me out of the "ministry."
I am currently in college pursuing a degree in Political Science. I don't know whether I should be an elected official or a media person, but I know that as I do what I know to do, all things will work together for good (Romans 8:28) "for them that love God." The Bible says that men know we love God by keeping His commandments. The logical conclusion from these separate verses is that everything works out for good when we obey God.
So should you be a politician, preacher, baker, missionary, businessman, or evangelist? Look into the Bible. Follow direct commands (obey your parents). Follow principles (all to the glory of God). And in the end, you'll realize it doesn't matter. I can glorify God by speaking from the Senate floor just as much as from a pulpit. As long as what you're doing is what you believe can bring God the most glory as you obey his revealed will, you can't go wrong.
And just in case you haven't noticed, our government has many people opposed to God. It is a pretty big mission field on its own. Maybe I've been called into the "ministry" after all.
-RST
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