An Occupational Vocational Hazard

Last week I began the arduous task of filling out the necessary paperwork to apply for scholarships to seminary. Forget for a moment the questions the scholarships asked me (that's a whole other blog post). One form specifically asked me to detail my future budget for the coming year. At my core I am a planner and in order to understand the world around me I need to look at all the data around me in order to be able to see where I am going and where I should go. Needless to say I have thought extensively about the dramatic change going to seminary in Tennessee will mean for myself and my family. It won't just be a change of scenery with the high probability of snow on top of a mountain. It will be a lifestyle change complete with different friends, different schedules, and a dramatic drop in income.

This last aspect came into focus when I began filling out said form. I realized that I would be gainfully unemployed and a full-time student once again. Keep in mind that my concern isn't about money. My wife and I have always lived with the belief that people who work hard and have faith in God will find a way to survive. The truth is that we have been abundantly blessed by a generous God who has given us a lifestyle that I can only begin to describe as comfortable. But filling out that form also crystallized another thought for me. In choosing this vocation I was placing my faith in God that not only would he support me and my family, but that I was telling the world that money is not the most important thing.

Too often I have seen young and old alike tell me that I could be making so much more money in my previous profession of international business. They tell me to imagine the possibilities of private jets, expensive dinners, and of course the car of my dreams. But while those things are nice, they have never appealed to me in such a way that I could not live without them. Going to seminary will be about embracing a simple life dedicated prayer, study, and time building the bonds within my family. It will be about living in solidarity with other men and women who have chosen to dedicate their lives to God in such a way that is countercultural to the norms of our society telling us to chase wealth at all cost.

In a few short months I will uproot my children from the only home they have ever known, the only one my wife and I have ever owned and leave Tampa Florida. Though it is only for three years it will be a grand adventure that will open my heart and eyes in ways that I cannot yet imagine.  My sincere prayer is that I will be willing to go where God's leads me, that I won't complain too much when he chides me, and that I will use this opportunity "to help souls".