Question

Faith Integration Assignment 5 - Vocation What do we mean by having a calling or being called? What is the difference between a calling and employment or a career? What types of vocations do we traditionally think of when we talk about being called? Why? Is it appropriate to be called to other careers? How does this work? What does this look like? How should you decide upon a vocation?

Answer 1

Having a call or being called refers to getting employed in a role or a field where you not only have job satisfaction but psychological and spiritual satisfaction that you were born to do that role. It is the feeling of belongingness in a job/role that feels aligned with the goal and objective of your life.

The key difference between being called and employment/career is that often we may feel that we internally want to do something but due to social and external pressure we may get employed in a career/job. Being called is the inner peace of belonging to a job/role/task. On the other hand, being employed is simply a way to earn money and support various physical and social needs.

When we think about being called we usually think about vocations such as religious clergy, not-for profit charity, working with the underprivileged etc. This is because these jobs usually pay very less compared to a corporate job or a professional career. However, it provides a meaning and spiritual satisfaction that is otherwise usually not available in corporate/professional jobs.

It is possible to be called to other careers. For example, if a person is good with numbers he/she may feel that he/she was born to be a mathematician and contribute to the field of mathematics. That may end up him/her becoming a professor/lecturer in a university or institution. This is not a conventional understanding of being called. But it is alright as long as the work contributes to the overall humanity.

In order to decide upon a vocation, we need to understand what we are good at and what our calling is. If we can merge these two with the same job that is the best option. However, if we cannot, then we need to decide by the trading off one against another depending upon our preference.