Finding My Calling in Business: Part 4 – Why Knowing Your Calling Is Important
Updated: Dec 28, 2020
Knowing my calling in business completely transformed my view on what I sell in the marketplace. I used to think people come to me for logos and websites. The more I understood my calling, the clearer I saw that what I really do is help people find what they were born to do, and then tell that story in the marketplace so that the very people the entrepreneur was supposed to help are magnetically attracted to him.
I help God in his mission to bring everyone in alignment with what he created them for so that heaven becomes a place on earth because if everyone was doing what they were born to do, we’d live in an awesome place to do business!
But I would have never come to this conclusion had I not first understood WHY calling is even important.
All of our businesses play a part in God’s plan for the restoration of his kingdom. We have lost sight of (or never found) this perspective and consequently lost our sense of calling.
So, why is knowing your calling important, and what does it mean for your business life?
First, understand that there are two types of calling for entrepreneurs:
Everyone’s Calling: All of us share a general calling in business – God calls us out of an old, sinful way of leading business into a new, redeemed, and faithful way of interacting in the marketplace so we can be the best example of Christ.
My Calling: This type of calling to use the gifts and talents God has given us.
For everyone’s calling, all of us are called to be faithful to the Lord in all areas of our lives – including our families, our church, and our nation. Particularly for business, we are called to a new way of running our businesses and faithfulness to our Lord.
For each of us individually, all of us are also called to use specific gifts and talents God has given only to us.
The bible says
"To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues." 1 Corinthians 12:8-10
When we are faithful to the entrepreneurial callings God has placed upon our lives, we will experience meaning, significance, and wholeness in our business. If our priorities are messed up, we will not.
Calling impacts and orients your business life in a variety of ways:
A sense of calling gives you perspective on what your business does. Whether you succeed or fail, you can sustain motivation to your calling if you remain faithful.
Calling can keep you from compromising. Sometimes in your business dealings you face the temptation to compromise your values. You may be challenged to act unethically in order to advance against your competition or save money.
You are called to be good stewards of your gifts. I Corinthians 12:8-10, Romans 12:6-8, and Ephesians 4:11-13, list various gifts in the body of Christ. Godpreneurs are called to know your gifts and to use them vigorously for his kingdom. Your “natural” gifts are your “created” gifts – given to you by God. The Fall has withered, misdirected, or twisted your natural gifts. However, the Holy Spirit can redirect these gifts to benefit both ministry and marketplace.
Don’t expect a “perfect” use of your gifts. You live in a business world that is far from perfect. It’s a long and difficult road of refinement and focus to find the business and position within the business that fully fits your gifts. Even if you could land the perfect market to be in, you would find that it wasn’t perfect because your employees and clients aren’t perfect people. Although you shouldn’t expect perfection, you should strive to be a good steward of the gifts you were given.
If we all knew our calling and how it impacts our brands and total business outlook, it would orient us to creating the business possible organization with the best products and services that were suited for us to create.