College students are always trying to figure out what to with their lives – you may be, too. That’s why we asked a group of professors two key questions: “What is a calling?” and “How do you find your calling?” Here’s what a few of them had to say.
How Can You Serve God in the World?
A calling is our way of serving God in this world. Each of us is called to serve him in an incredibly unique and different way.
– Joe Connors, associate professor of economics at the Donald R. Tapia School of Business at St. Leo University
What Has God Appointed for You to Do?
Your calling is whatever God has appointed for you to do. You can find your calling, quite simply, by looking for whatever people will pay you to do. If you don’t do it as well as other people or it isn’t your comparative advantage, then people probably aren’t going to pay you for it. Therefore, it is probably also not necessarily your calling. You’re going to need to quality that with a lot of different things, but it could very well be that your calling is something that may not look glamorous, it may not look holy, it may not look wonderful.
– Art Carden, associate professor of economics at Samford University’s Brock School of Business
Is Your Calling Connected to the Cultural Mandate?
The key to finding a calling is to link your life to the mandate God gave to Adam and Eve, and, by extension, the whole human race, in Genesis 1:28.
– David Kotter, dean and professor of new testament studies, Colorado Christian University
What Is Influencing Your Decisions?
Everyone is called to a certain activity because we are unique individuals created with certain skills and talents. The calling is our answer to God’s opportunities to serve. Finding our calling can be tricky because we are often influenced by things outside of God’s calling. If you really want to find your calling, you need to look at your skills and talents and take an honest assessment of your interests. Then look at what the world needs, where you can serve…. It isn’t about income, it isn’t about prestige, it isn’t about pleasing man. It’s about making sure you are a good steward of the skills and talents God has given you, in the way that best serves the kingdom and your fellow man.
– Brian Baugus, associate professor of business, leadership, and management at Regent University
