Career Guidance

Dear Victorious,

I'm a senior in high school and one of my friends turned me onto your blog. I especially like this blog, where we can ask questions. I feel as if I'm talking to my dad sometimes when I read it! (Only I think you might be smarter than my dad.) Anyway, I'm looking at college next year and really just don't know what I want to do with my life. Is there a Biblical way to go about picking a career? How should Christians decide about their professions in life?

Ricky E. - Houston, TX

Dear Ricky,

First of all, I doubt very much that I'm smarter than your Dad. When we're teen-agers, we just don't tend to think that much of our parents' wisdom. As you get older, you'll realize that your parents are most likely the smartest, wisest people that you know. (Really!) At any rate, your question is a very good one. It encourages me to see young people like you asking questions like this. It tells me there is great hope for the future that will be in your hands!

So, how should Christians go about picking a profession, deciding on a career, etc.? Actually there is very solid Biblical criteria. I could blog about that for a couple of days at least, but I'll try to put it succinctly here for you. So here's the drill:

1. Realize that true Christ-followers don't have their own careers. They obediently follow Christ wherever He may lead them. That could look like what the world calls a career. But it may not. Either way, our focus is to follow Christ. Are you willing to do that? Even if He calls you, for example, to be poor?

2. Identify and examine your spiritual gifts and aptitudes. How has God wired you and gifted you? What kinds of work in life would make the best use of those attributes? (If you don't know your gifts, take a spiritual gifts assessment.)

3. Finally, realize that in today's society, very few people work in one career or profession their entire life. In fact, it is much more common now for people to have multiple "careers" throughout their lifetime. And very often, they will not be working in a career that their education would have pointed them to. A good example might be all the music majors who work in the IT business.

It's good that you're asking the question. Pray that God will reveal His perfect will for you in His time, and commit yourself to waiting on the Lord. In the meantime, do the next right thing that you can think of to do. And trust God with the details.