Career Choices

Q: What can a parent say to a college-aged child who doesn't seem to know what they want to do in life? My son hasn't declared a major. He seems to be interested in everything, but committed to nothing. It's really frustrating. The world is his oyster and full of possibilities. How can a Christian parent guide a child to good career choices without manipulating or meddling?

A: Isn't that just the point? He's "interested in everything, but committed to nothing." Think about what that means. In today's society, it is more than common for most people to have several "careers." Rarely do people end up working in the profession that they started right out of college. Even when they do, they often switch careers in mid stream ... several times. So the moral to this story is not to get too hung up on what specifically someone does or doesn't do. As long as they're working at something, being productive members of society and not expecting the world to take care of them without giving anything in return --- as a parent I would resign myself to love them, pray for them and be there whenever my guidance is wanted.

How should you pray for a young man like this? Pray that God would draw him close to Himself. Pray that he would have a passion to seek, know and worship God above anything else he ever does. Pray that his heart and spirit would be protected. And pray that he have wisdom and discernment enough to hear when God calls him to a task, profession, mission, etc.

Finally, it's worth saying here that it is far more important who the young man is than what he does. And frankly, that's true for any of us. God is far more interested in who we are than what we do or don't do. The biggest goal I would have for my own son is that he be a man of God, committed to his God and his other relationships. Jesus said the two most important commandments are to love God and love others. Frankly, that is the mandate for life. So you have a successful son who honors his parents when he fulfills those two commandments. It doesn't matter what else he does for a living. Remember the Apostle Paul - a committed murderer of Christians? He changed careers in mid stream to become an Apostle, author most of the New Testament and undoubtedly be the most influential man in the Bible (besides Jesus). And for what it's worth, he was a tent maker to support his ministry.

Let's hope that your son finds that passion for God and engages in some sort of "tent making" to support his ministry.