The question is bound to come up for any believer (hopefully).  In order to fulfill my calling in Jesus, do I need to quit my full time job?

As controversial as it is, I still don’t back down from my statement on my front page, that there is no such thing as a part-time christian.  I believe every follower of Jesus is supposed to serve Him full time.

With that being said, I believe we are all in a process of becoming who we are called to be in Christ.  One person may be at one point on their path while another somewhere else.  So it’s not appropriate to force where you are in your path on other people.  I often tell people that I wasn’t in a position to do what I’m doing now a year and a half ago, it’s all been a process.

So, in that light, read this as motivation and an encouragement to live FULLY for Jesus.

So, do you need to quit your job?  The better question is this:  Is your job keeping your from fulfilling your call of following after Christ full time?  If you work 40-50 hours a week working for the world, for things that are temporal and don’t last, how much more should we be investing our time and energy in the eternal, unshakeable Kingdom of God? 

If you worked for God as much as you worked for the world at the same time that would take about 100 hours a week…which leaves you with 68 hours “to call your own”.  That’s 10 hours a day for sleeping, eating, and family…ouch.  Why does the world get more of your time than God?

It’s my opinion that the majority of the American body of Christ is trapped by the world system by the means of debt and materialism that we can’t properly fulfill the call of the gospel (that’s said about as nice as I can possibly say it).

The first response and fear is,
-“But, I need to pay my bills…therefore I need a job.”
 

Yes, you do have bills, so you do need a job, right now.  But what if we try to look at what our bills are?   If that’s our excuse let’s look at the precise things that are keeping us from our call in Christ.  Is it a car payment?  House payment?  Credit Card bills? Cable TV?  Internet?  Food? Etc.  You get the idea.

Your time is completely absorbed in the maintanence of this particular lifestyle you are living.  You work because you have to maintain whatever “status quo” you’ve developed.  Look at all the stuff around you.  If you can see it, you can’t take it with you.  The saying “I’ve never seen a hearse with a U-haul trailer attached to it.” comes to mind.  We don’t take any luggage to the Kingdom.  We are all going to face the Lord one day, and we’re all going to look back from the eternal perspective and say “I wasted my time…..on that!?”

That’s a nice way of putting it.  However, Jesus commanded it of His disciple’s.  Luke 14:25-35 tells us we have to forsake this world, even our own life, for the purpose of following after Jesus.  He gives 2 parables that show the foolishness of people who do not accurately appropriate the cost of a project.  He then tells us, in the context of forsaking everything we have for the Kingdom,  that if we don’t really look at the costs of this path we’re trying to take, we’re jut as foolish. 

What is the cost?  Everything…it really is everything, right down to your life.  When we first decided to go for this, I remember telling my wife that we had to look at every thing and everyone around us (including ourselves) and say “I will give this up for following Jesus.”

We have to do this.  Count the costs.  If you’re going to live for the world, your cost is your soul (you’re giving up eternity for 70 years).  If you’re going to live for Jesus, your cost is your life here on earth (you’re giving up 70 years for eternity).  You cannot acquire the eternal life if you don’t forsake this life.  You cannot serve both God and money at the same time.

I truly think, according to Matthew 6:19-34, that we really don’t need to expend as much energy and time as we think to live.  We just have to be willing to drop all this worldly materialism to serve Jesus.  This will require actual faith!  Instead of faith for that brand new car or great big house, we’ll have to use faith for our very sustenance.  Talk about a 180.

If you require a job because of your bills.  Get rid of your bills.  Or at least cut them down to the bear minimum.  If it’s a car payment, sell the car and get a cheaper one.  If it’s a house payment, sell it and rent a smaller apartment.  If it’s credit card debt, get out from “Egypts” control and stop going to the world for your provision…learn to trust in Jesus.

When you make your income needs minimal, it means you have to work for the world less and less which in turn means you can live more and more for Jesus. 

When you start laying these things down you’ll start to realize how freedom tastes.  You’ll start seeing things for the way they really are…fake.  Worldly security and insurance is fake.  We really don’t have as much control as we think we do, just look at Katrina and 9/11. 

Besides all this, how many of us have heard that when you’re on your deathbed, moments before your last breath, that you really don’t think about your material possessions, your job, or your money…you only worry about your family and what’s going to happen after you die.

Let’s be what the apostle Paul calls us to be…LIVING sacrifices.  Walking dead people.  The only life that is in our blood is the life that Jesus breathes in us.  If we are walking martyrs, nothing will get in our way of fulfilling the call of God because we don’t love our own lives and we’re not living for ourselves.  We are simply living for Jesus, and it’s not a flaky Sunday morning confession anymore, it’s the truth and it will be shown by the way we live our lives. 

7You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said,
8 `These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away.
Matt 15:7-8

Let’s not be hypocrites.  Look, I don’t know what to expect.  I don’t know exactly where the money will come from or how it will come, but who cares…let’s just follow Jesus.  It’ll make life a lot more interesting won’t it!

I remember being at my job in the summer of 2005.  I was anxious, I knew my life was more than this job.  I knew that Jesus had better things planned for me than working the rest of my life for things that just break.  I stopped what I was doing one day and just prayed…”Jesus, I don’t think you want me to spend the rest of my life doing this…I don’t know how to get out of this job, but I trust in you.  Will you please help me, I want to serve you fully.”  And, for my particular instance it took about 6 months to come to pass.  Maybe the Lord wanted quicker obedience, I’m not sure, the important thing was that I made a decision and started walking towards it.  But little by little the Lord started showing me the way out.  I took each little step He gave me and January 27, 2006 I quit my fulltime job.  I’ve never had a “real job” since.  I’ve given up the things of this world for the things of God, and I’m still going through the process of it.  There is more freedom to be had in our lives concerning this.

We are in a completely different place now (both physically and spiritually), but I tell you, the freedom is priceless.  I am at a place now where I can “Go,” whenever the Lord says “Go”, and I don’t have a job holding me back, a car payment, or house payment.  I have freedom to “Go” at the drop of a hat.

It’s absolutely priceless.  Why don’t you join me?  Let’s turn from the ways of this world and turn towards the ways of God.  His ways are truly better! 

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