Christianity & Career Planning

Christians have almost as many ways of understanding God's will as they have other styles of communication. Like communication, there is more in these ways of interpreting God's will than simply the vocabulary and syntax. In language one conveys intent and meaning with inflection, tone, facial expression, body posture, degree of formality in word choice, and other clues and signals. With the Lord of Hosts one will hear communication of His will in feeling, thought, personal sense of right and wrong, closed or open "doors" that deny or permit actions, or a host of other methods. Each of these is chosen according to personal taste and understanding, but far too often the choice is made solely on the basis of personal taste and understanding. The other element that must guide how one listens to God is God Himself, and what He has said. 1 Timothy 4:5 says "For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." "It" is whatever one is concerned about. Paul's immediate meaning is the food one eats, but whatever one receives from God should be sanctified with prayer and thanksgiving, especially one's job.

Likewise, in planning one's career, one should realize that one is planning the activities that will occupy the bulk of one's future, and so "bathe" that decision in prayer. If a person had indeed committed his or her life to Jesus Christ and made Him Lord, then the choice of what to spend that life doing certainly is to be made by the owner, not by the slave. For the Christian t

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d in the Bible as Jesus is. The principal objection one would have to Biblical career counseling is that it would be counseling women on their choice of a career as much as counseling men. The Bible, specifically the New Testament, is clear on the role of the woman in the family. Titus 2:5 say the woman is "to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." 1 Timothy 5:14 adds "therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully." If this be the case, then how can a Christian counselor countenance counseling a Christian woman? The answer is in the interpretation of the intent behind Paul's message. Paul certainly meant that in a Christian home, the job of raising the children (and it is a full time job with more responsibilities and rewards than almost any other) is the mother's. The Christian is to raise children like he or she does anything else, "as unto the Lord." One certainly will not obtain such an upbringing at a daycare center. Thus, when a Christian woman marries, she certainly should do so with the knowledge that what God wants for her is to devote her time

Category: Philosophy - C