Do the work: Some thoughts on living your calling

by Berry Simpson

“To give anything less than your best
is to sacrifice the gift.” Legendary American track star and Olympian, Steve
Prefontaine, said this about running, but the sentiment applies to anything we
are called to do.

I’m sorry to admit, I doubt I’ve
ever committed my absolute best to anything. In fact, maybe I don’t even know
my best when I see it. I hope I will, someday, when I finally grow up.

On the other hand, it is part of my
personality to learn as much as I can digest about anything I undertake,
whether writing, teaching, running, cycling, marriage, or theology. In fact,
knowing that about me is one reason I hesitate before taking on a new project;
I know how much time and effort it will cost. It usually surprises me when
other people don’t feel the same way.

For example, I once served twelve
years as an elected city official, and I was continually baffled that not all
my fellow councilmembers would make time to go to conferences and training to
hear what the most innovative cities were doing. How could they hope to serve
people if their only government wisdom came from what they already knew? No
wonder we often ended up with small-minded solutions. To be uninterested about
learning seemed lazy, at best, arrogant and self-serving, at worst. It’s
sacrificing the gift.

Sorry. I started this by writing
about calling.

God's calling (or assignment, or gifting, or special talent) is not a
ticket for a free ride, but an obligation to go to work. But when we work hard
to develop the calling God has given us, it isn’t onerous. It might be hard,
but it comes with joy and fullness.

To have a special gift as a teacher,
for example, doesn’t mean teaching will be easy, it means we have more to live
up to. It isn’t a free ride; it’s a noble obligation. Not because God needs our
help to make sure he gets the results he wants, but because we owe God our
best. How dare we toss something out there half-baked and expect it to be OK
because “it is for God.”

Simply making a joyful noise is not
enough. I want to play the right notes, in tune, with joy in my heart. I want
to write the best books and essays that I can. I don’t want to meet God someday
only to find him holding one of my books, saying, “I gave you those great insights
and the desire to write them out and publish them, but you blew it with bad
grammar and tacky typesetting. What were you thinking?”

There is a Bible story about the aging King David, who was giving advice
his successors. He told his son, Solomon, "Be strong and courageous, and
do the work. Do not be afraid … He will not fail you." (1 Chronicles
28:20 NIV) The phrase that stopped me in my tracks was "Do the work."
Just like Solomon, we have to do the work, take the training, practice the
craft, risk rejection, and cultivate expert opinions, every day.

Social researcher Brene’ Brown
wrote, “It was clear to me that living a wholehearted life included engaging in
what many people I interviewed called meaningful work. Others spoke of
having a calling. We all have gifts and talents. When we cultivate those gifts
and share them with the world, we create a sense of meaning and purpose in our
lives.” (The Gifts of Imperfection)

She also wrote, “Squandering our
gifts brings distress to our lives. If we don’t use the gifts that we’ve been given,
we pay for it with our emotional and physical well-being. When we don’t use our
talents to cultivate meaningful work, we struggle. We feel disconnected and
weighed down by feelings of emptiness, frustration, resentment, shame,
disappointment, fear, and even grief.”

Here’s another thought, from Wide Awake, by Erwin McManus: “The world
desperately needs the power of your life fully lived. You have no greater
responsibility than to live the life God created you to live … your life can
never be simply about you.”

So in the spirit of vulnerability, here
is what I believe in my heart. I believe I have books in me that will change lives,
which will draw readers into a closer relationship with God, and encourage
readers to pursue their love. What I don’t know is which book will do all of
that. Maybe I have to publish a dozen books, clearing the slate and opening my
mind, before I’m smart enough and skilled enough to get down to the book God
will use.

Therefore, I feel obligated to read
the clever writers, study the best writing advice, learn about publishing and
marketing, and recruit professionals to help me. To do anything less would be
to sacrifice the gift.

How about you? Using your gifts and
talents to create meaningful work takes a tremendous amount of commitment,
because in most cases the meaningful work is not what pays the bills. Most of
us have to piece it together. But we all have to do the work.

QUESTION: What skills or projects do
you feel compelled to improve? Do they add meaning to your life? Does improving
them bring you joy?

“I run in the path of Your
commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32