Paul writes in Ephesians 4:1, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”
There is a lot in this verse, but notice that at the beginning of that verse, Paul starts out by saying, “I am a prisoner!”
We don’t know all the details of his imprisonment, but we do know that it was some sort of house arrest. So he had a little freedom (enough to write letters to churches) but he was still a prisoner.
In a way, this was his “full-time vocation.” This is what he had to do throughout the day, even though he did have some liberty.
I point this out because Paul was in a NON-IDEAL position. This was not something he would have wanted to be in. When he was a child, he didn’t grow up wishing he could be in prison.
Yet even in the midst of the imprisonment – in this non-ideal job – he still lived in a way that he glorified God!
There is something we can learn from him about this. You may not be in your ideal job. You may be dreaming every day as you drive to work of being in a different job. But the reality is that if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter what job you have, you can still glorify God in your current position.
Writing to a different church, Paul has this to say… “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” (1 Corinthians 1:26).
Paul admitted that many in the church in Corinth did not have ideal jobs. They were the not the prosperous. They were not the leaders or CEOs.
Yet Paul tells them that, even though they were not in amazing jobs, to still focus on what God has called you them to.
This is so important for us to see as Christians. No matter the job, no matter the circumstances, we are still called to glorify Jesus with our lives. That is because your calling as a Christian trumps your vocation. What you do is not the most important thing. Instead, what you are in Christ is far more important! If you will live with that idea, then you can go into any job and glorify God with your life.