Secular work versus paid ministry
Recently, I’ve been involved in some discussions regarding Christians staying at work in secular jobs and those who leave to undertake full-time paid ministry. We were also talking about this today at the Christian group at my work, since we had two people (one of whom is Stephen Farrar, for those of you who went to Ruse) leave at the end of last year to undertake “religious vocations”.
For a good number of Christians, the question of whether to stay working full-time in their secular jobs or pursue some sort of full-time paid ministry arises sooner-or-later in their lives. Now, clearly there is no right or wrong decision. There is no mention in the Bible that entering paid ministry is superior to other forms of work. What it does say is that we are to be diligent in our work, and not be lazy. I could go on about the morals and ethics of work from a Christian’s perspective, but that’s not the point of this post. Whilst there is no right or wrong decision, there are right and wrong motives behind that decision.
For those who choose to stay in full-time secular work, be sure that the reason is not out of greed. Yes, you will almost certainly make lots more money than those who are in full-time paid ministry. Hence, be generous and don’t hoard what God has given to you. Use it to support those who chose to enter paid ministry since for them, that’s where their income comes from. One of the greatest temptations working and raking in the money is doing it so that you can live a more luxurious life. Remember that although money in itself is not evil, the love of money is. Also, be wary that your life does not end up being entirely work-focused. If you end up working so many hours that you have no time for any church-related activities, or even church itself, rethink whether you should be in that job or line of work.
And then there will be those who choose to leave their secular jobs and to pursue full-time paid ministry. Once again, there are a number of temptations that present themselves should one decide to go down this path. When you become a pastor/minister/whatever, people will eventually look to you as a leader. You’ll most likely take on responsibility for things that happen at church. The problem is when all this power and responsibility goes to your head and pride becomes a problem. Being in such a position does not make you more superior to everybody else. In fact, looking at Jesus’ leadership in the Bible, he is often leading by service and submission. He places himself below others and never seeks attention in order to boost his own ego. Don’t participate in ministry in such a way as to show others how good/capable you are. Do everything to glorify Him who deserves all the glory.
I guess at the end of the day, the church is lacking in two major areas: finances and workers. It costs money to support people in full-time paid ministry. It costs money to support missionaries. It costs money to do pretty much anything nowadays. There’s also a shortage of workers out there (see Matthew 9:35-38). Even though technically God can do everything without us, He has decided to not leave us out of the picture by using us for His purposes. How does that challenge you in the way you plan for the future?