Questions & Answers

Vocation

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Youth, Dating and Friendship › Vocation

The question

I would like to know more about the “calling” that we receive as individuals and how we can tell if we are going in the right direction or not.

"Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called" (1 Corinthians 7:20).

What is meant in 1 Corinthians 7:20 when it says "the same calling wherein he was called"? Does this mean a certain moment that one should recognize as the “calling” in one’s own life? I have thought about the calling in different ways:

1. The general “calling” of following Him and deepening our faith by obeying the Commandments, etc. (i.e., the “calling” to be a Christian)
2. The individual “calling” can involve what career we work towards and service we do. (These would be the "small" specific things of which He takes notice).

I have been doing the same routine for a while now—doing a certain type of service. I do not feel like I'm progressing much and that I should be doing something else with it.

Does 1 Corinthians 7:20 mean a person should continue to do the same thing that they were doing when they were “called”? For example, remaining in the same occupation/service or study that they were in while they were called? (i.e., a certain moment that one should recognize as the “calling” in his or her own life?)

Do you know some ways that we can find out where He might be calling us to go next? I have heard from a priest in a sermon about trial and error in hearing His Voice, and how we learn along the way where He wants us to go. I have heard people talk about being called to do this or that, and that it feels like it is the right place for them. They sound confident in saying that where they are at is where God has called them to be.

Are we supposed to examine what our “calling” might be by looking at we love to do the most, or can our “calling” be something that we do not enjoy but feel like we have to do? (With this, thinking about maybe one is needs to go out of the comfort zones). Should someone stay in a certain service waiting for the love for it to be there one day while the love is not there, or should they leave it because there is no love for that specific field of service?

The answer

What is meant in 1 Corinthians 7:20 is a comfort verse beseeching the believers and servants to be content with their status in the service. For example, St. Paul was a great evangelist, but he was also a tentmaker. St. Peter was a great evangelist, but he was also a fisherman. Many great saints benefitted from their former occupations, though they eventually needed to no longer depend on their former professions. However, they could draw allegories and practical advice from their former knowledge and experience. Many monastics serve in their monasteries within their areas of expertise, e.g., physicians care for the ill monastics, engineers help with the expansion or restoration of the buildings and cells in the monastery, accountants, writers, artists, etc. are often called upon to provide insight to various projects and maintenance of the monastery. God may have a special calling for you. When you heart burns with this zeal, discuss it with your confession father so that he may help you discern the direction you ought to take. Use all the gifts that God has given you for the glory of His holy name, without any concern of status or recognition.

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 2084 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.