What Career Should I Choose?

I love mulling over all the possible careers I can have.

In primary school, I read Artemus Flint, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, and wanted to be a detective.

As I grew older, I realized I didn't have the guts and smarts to be one, so I gave that dream up.

When I was 20, I wrote on a piece of paper (which I still have about me somewhere) the following: Psychologist. Counsellor. Legal Officer/Lawyer. Fashion Designer. Interior Designer.

Sometime in my 11-year law career, I realized I wasn't happy. I wasn't cut out for the law. I was struggling too much, like a salmon swimming upstream. Surely I was meant for something else? And so began my transition into a life of writing.

I sought God many times on what career He meant me to have, but never did get answers. I felt that if I could only find THE answer, THE career that was meant for me, all my uncertainties would melt away and I would be a focussed, purpose driven person who knew exactly where to channel her energies and time.

But it seems I may have got my paradigm wrong.

If Rick Warren is right and it's not all about me, then what I choose for a career is really of secondary importance compared to God's ultimate purpose for my life.

Much confusion in the Christian life comes from ignoring the simple truth that God is far more interested in building your character than he is anything else. We worry when God seems silent on specific issues such as "What career should I choose?" The truth is, there are many careers that could be in God's will for your life. What God cares about most is that whatever you do, you do in a Christlike manner.
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Sadly, a quick review of many popular Christian books reveals that many believers have abandoned living for God's great purposes and settled for personal fulfilment and emotional stability. That is narcissism, not discipleship. Jesus did not die on the cross just so we could live comfortable, well-adjusted lives. His purpose is far deeper. He wants to make us like himself before he takes us to heaven. This is our greatest privilege, our immediate responsibility, and our ultimate destiny. (Chapter 22, The Purpose Driven Life)

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out...Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:2, The Message)