Is "Personal Calling" a Discipleship Issue or Self-Centered Thinking?

Two Christians are having a conversation about personal calling. 

The first Christian says, “I want to discover my personal calling because I want to know what it is God has put me on this earth to do.” 

The second Christian responds, “I think God put you on this earth to simply serve Him and other people. Talk of personal calling is self-absorbed and self-serving.”

So who’s right? 

What should we make of this conversation? Is the issue of “personal calling” - the idea that there is a customized way an individual lives to serve God, a legitimate Christian view of following Jesus or is it a tainted view of discipleship?

Why Some Believe It’s a Self-Serving Topic

1. Because it feels rooted in Western individualism

Christians can be wary of phrases like “Be the best version of yourself” and “Follow your dreams.” 

This makes sense since Jesus’ key discipleship invitation was “Deny yourself and take up your cross” not “Dream big and take up your calling.” Jesus’ way of the cross seems to fly in the face of individualism- the cultural air of our Western world. 

So the topic of personal calling can sort of sound like the Christianized step-child of Western individualism ready for mass distribution for self-absorbed Christians interested in some version of “personal growth.” 

2. Because it’s a conversation of the privileged  

People in 3rd world countries aren’t asking about personal calling because they’re trying to survive.

At least, this is what some Christians say. And I buy the argument. 

A large percentage of the world doesn’t have the resources and opportunity to think through something as personally nuanced as “calling.” Conversations about career, gift mix, and passion sound like opportunities afforded to the middle to upper-middle class of American suburbia.

Why I Believe Personal Calling is a Discipleship Issue 

1. Because it’s rooted in the Garden of Eden, not Modernity 

In the garden of Eden, God called the first humans to work. In fact, Adam and Eve did not work to live (they didn’t have to). They lived to work.

And while their work came in broad strokes through Biblical language such as multiplication, filling of the earth, subduing and ruling over, their work also came with rigorous specificity: they were to tend to a specific garden on the earth. 

In other words, Adam and Eve were not simply recipients of a general calling over humanity, but they received a personal calling unique and specific to them. Oh, and this was way before Western Civilization or before the concept of individualism was discussed over a cup of coffee. 

This concept of personal calling is not a new concept. It wasn’t birthed by the Enlightenment or by some remotely working Millennial taking selfies at a coffee shop. Personal calling is an old and ancient concept. It’s so old that it’s pre-sin (before sin even entered the world)!

Therefore, to talk about personal calling is not to be a prisoner of our cultural moment, but it’s to stretch our understanding of discipleship back to God’s original intention and desire for humanity from the beginning. 

It’s to view our work as our vocation. (Did you know that the root word of “vocation” means “to call.” In other words, there was a period of time in history when people thought of every type of work as a kind of “calling.”) 

In fact the Latin word “vocatio” could be translated “voice.” In other words, your work is your voice. It’s to (as the Quaker have said) let your life speak (as you find and work your garden). 

Personal calling is not a human invention. It’s a divine initiative.

2. Because it’s a privilege that needs to be stewarded 

John Mark Comer in his book Garden City (Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human) has a take I had never considered until now. 

While he agrees that the topic of personal calling may be more greatly afforded for the affluent, he reasons that this doesn’t erase its implications. 

Comer writes, “Asking this question is a luxury that most of the world doesn’t have… but in the West - because of our staggering level of wealth….it’s crazy to me that some people don’t at least try.” In other words, he’s saying it’s surprising more people don’t even try to pursue their passions and dreams considering our wealth and opportunities. 

If the topic of personal calling is indeed a privilege, then it’s a privilege that must be stewarded faithfully just like every other privilege we possess. We must steward the roof over our head, the food in our refrigerator, the multiple electronic devices we possess, etc. 

After all, don’t our bodies belong to God? Doesn’t every part of us belong to God (including our gifts, talents, passions, and wirings)? Shouldn’t we be as intentional as possible as to how to best strategically re-direct all that He’s given us?

Privilege doesn’t release us from the hook of responsibility. The greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility. And I believe the topic of “personal calling” can give greater clarity for the sake of stewardship.

Conclusion 

Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life defines calling as “the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to his summons and service.”

I wonder if we need to talk about personal calling more in our churches. 

While discipleship is certainly about church members stepping into roles to strengthen the church at large, I wonder what role the church has in stepping in to strengthen individual Christians for their family, workplace, and beyond. 

Most of people’s lives are not spent gathered in a church, but scattered in their homes and workplaces. It may be worth equipping God’s people for their gardens.