– April 14, 2020 –
One of the things I appreciate most about KIROS is the diversity of vocation present in the community. We are often siloed in our vocations while we’re at our places of business. Engineers work with engineers. Accountants work with accountants. In our churches we have a diversity of vocation, but a singular focus when we worship together. KIROS gives me a way to think of what it means to be a Christian at work alongside people of different vocations.
But recently, it seems to me, we have a different kind of diversity in our community: many of us have had our vocations radically changed, and in short order. Some of us are not able to work like we used to. Some of us were accountants, but are now homeschool teachers. Some of us still work in the same vocation, but what our work entails looks entirely different. Instead of trying to expand our businesses, some of us may be looking to keep it afloat. We are all having to make hard decisions about our career, our business, our customers, our employees, and how we help our community.
This reminds me of a sermon by CS Lewis in Weight of Glory named “Learning in Wartime”. The sermon was given to students at Oxford in the thick of World War II, attempting to answer some of the basic questions we often have when trying to persevere through a crisis: Do I continue on as if this isn’t a big deal? How do I keep focused on what is in front of me? I wish this had never happened, why am I going through this? What about all of my plans, when can I get back to them?
These are very real concerns, and Lewis doesn’t dismiss them. He writes that
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“A more Christian attitude… is that of leaving futurity in God’s hands. We may as well, for God will certainly retain it whether we leave it to Him or not. Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment “as to the Lord”. It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.”
That is, he suggests that the Christian walk is about doing our vocation, whatever that may be, dutifully in the present. That is in fact exactly our duty in all circumstances, crisis or not. As to the questions “Why me? Why us? Why now?”, Lewis has an encouraging word:
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“The work of a Beethoven, and the work of a charwoman, become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly “as to the Lord”. This does not, of course, mean that it is for anyone a mere toss-up whether he should sweep rooms or compose symphonies. A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow. We are members of one body, but differentiated members, each with his own vocation. A man’s upbringing, his talents, his circumstances, are usually a tolerable index of his vocation.”
Our backgrounds, our talent, and our circumstances were ordained by God for all moments, certainly, but also this one. The decisions we make regarding our families, work, and community were given to us by God, and we should be encouraged that this was done with a purpose. We should remind ourselves that even though we, like those terrified students at Oxford in 1939, may wish this wasn’t our burden it was nonetheless chosen for us for a reason. God prepared us for our part to play in it.
Whatever your vocation looks like now, I think we should heed Lewis’ advice and remember that all of our work becomes “spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly ‘as to the Lord'”. This is true even, and maybe especially, if it wasn’t the work that we planned to be doing.
Tripp Parker
KIROS Board
