job/calling

so i spent the day working at the coffee shop, as opposed to sitting in one. 8-3, not a bad day's shift. pretty steady, not too busy, and easy; given that i've worked there for almost three years now. its a good job- i can take any day off i want, plan my own schedule, get amazing discounts on coffee(which could start a whole other blog posting in and of itself), etc.

i'm pretty content(ha ha) there.

recently though, i was asked, "jonathan, how long do you intend to stay at [insert coffee shop's name here]?"

good question.

do i like having money to put in my gas tank? check.

do i like having something to do rather than sit around all summer? check.

do i like the people i work with? the majority of the time, check.

do i like the coffee? check, check, check!!!

do i have the time? more or less, check.

so why would i leave?

look at the statistics(which i don't have right in front of me at the moment, but bear with me).

%+-2*#~/x

michigan has some of the worst unemployment rates in the country, at times topping the nation in terms of unemployment(i think i heard on fox tonight that florida just surpassed michigan. go figure).

insert [me]. i have the time to spare, want to do it, and am making money. that's what a job is all about, right?

yup.

huh? did you expect some other response? something about how we need to "love our jobs", appreciate them because many people would kill to have one?

well, you're right about that. we do need to love our jobs. there are people who would kill one.

but if the reason i am staying at my job is because it is 1.) convenient to my schedule, 2.) something i like, and 3.) money-making, then i guess my ultimate goals in life are met.

heck, even the Bible talks about people being lazy (its in the Proverbs) and not working. so by society's standard(and according to some, the Bible's standard), having a job means i've arrived.

arrived where though? at ultimate "barista-dom"? is that my purpose, to be the best coffee barista i can be?

i don't think so.

i mean, if everyone took their first job at age 14 or 15 and decided that since, for the most part they could make it work around their schedules, could make it fun, and heaven forbid, make them money, then everyone would still be scrubbing toilets, making ice cream cones, flipping burgers, and delivering newspapers.

now don't get me wrong. there are people who have this calling, and for many people, this may be the only way they can provide for their families. i am not discrediting these jobs at all. in fact, i believe that these people are some of the hardest working individuals in society of all.

but.

i can tell you for certain that my calling(unless God decides to change it) is not as a barista. if we all just stayed with things because they are convenient or make lots of money(or not, if you work my job), there would be no servants of Christ.

what? is that true? would we really all fall away if the only reason for serving God was

out of convenience?

out of profit?

out of ease?

....but isn't that the way the majority of christians(myself included) live?

i'm not going on a mission trip, because it costs too much money?

i'm not going to host a refugee because its one more mouth to feed?

i'm not ministering to _______ because it makes me feel uncomfortable?

but what is that is our calling?

...to move to Honduras?

...to sell everything to support 20 refugees?

...to do a short-term mission trip instead of going on vacation?

...to start a ministry for addicts and social outcasts?

...to quit my job and follow my calling?