Making Career Spiritually More Fulfilling
By Dér Stépanos Dingilian, Ph.D. © 2001
In a previous article it was discussed why our career is such an
important part of our life. We
discussed how it requires a significant part of our life and creative effort. Thus, simply attending Church or taking part in Church
related activities once or twice a week does not make our career any more
meaningful. Instead, while we are
performing the duties and creative efforts of our career, it is in the midst of
those accomplishments that we need to serve and glorify God!
Sounds impossible? Well,
here are some suggestions from professionals who actually believe that they are
serving God even though they are in real estate, manufacturing, engineering, and
business professions. We will begin
with some of their suggestions here, and continue with them in other articles.
1. Put your
career in the hands of God. Believing
the power of God while in the Church and even in family related settings is
reasonable, and rather easy to accept. However,
trusting God with one’s plans for a career is much more difficult. Why? Because it
seems that the business world is only interested in financial resources, while
God is not interested in that. Although
there is some truth to it, but there is no reason why the two have to be
separate in our life. In other
words, yes, the business world’s bottom life is the profit, but does that mean
that anyone who believes in God cannot be profitable or successful? The question comes back to us: What are we seeking in our
career? If we are seeking to show
God’s grace through our career, then we will accomplish that!
The Bible is full of stories such as that of Joseph in the Old Testament,
where his belief in God helped him become accomplished in his career, and
simultaneously his career accomplishments helped him serve God better than he
had expected. So the choice is for us to decide what do we want to
accomplish through our career: If we want to be successful in the business world
only, then we will accomplish that, but have very little respect from God or
fellow human beings. If on the
other hand, we want to serve God, then we will be successful and respected in
our career, and in addition be loved and respected by God and fellow human
beings. The choice is ours!
2. Redefine 'success' so it is
from God's perspective! A
number of professionals told me that before they had placed their trust in God
for their career successes, they had a very narrow categorization of
‘success.’ They only viewed
success as greater profits and a larger bottom line.
Everything else was meaningless. However,
when they trusted God with the guidance of their career, suddenly, the
definition of ‘success’ widened and became more meaningful.
Here how one professional put it: “Being successful now came to mean
being creative and pioneering, rather than a defensive, tunneled vision ‘bean
counter’! Being ‘successful’
meant more than just my own success, it also included the help and success of
others!” Sharing one’s own
success with others is perceived by the professional as a service rendered to
God: “Helping other business professionals who are in need is a way for me to
say ‘Thank You!’ and give back to God part of His blessings.”
3. Stress is truly reduced and big burden is lifted off! A number of professionals stated the same thing: “Before, when I got a phone call or an e-mail from a friend, I always worried: Is it possible that he is now more successful than I am? Now I don’t have that worry!” Thus, trusting that God will provide the best possible path for one’s career, eliminates the stress of competition with fellow professionals or even friends. The emphasis is not competing with another person, but rather fulfilling God’s calling. The basis of a career is not dependent on how others do, but instead is contained within one’s relationship with God. No longer is career success such a stressful chaotic turbulent drudgery, but rather a peaceful joyful trip towards discovering what God has in store for us!
There are more insights into ways that business professionals said their faith and trust in God helps them make a sense a greater sense of fulfillment from their career. I will share these in future articles!
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