What career should I Pursue? A Personal Reflection

Now that I am in my 8th decade of life I should have experiences that can be passed on to younger people. My thoughts at the moment are in the realm of employment.

When I left school I was faced with what to do with a future career. Yes, that was a question that could be asked then, unlike today where careers are short lived and hard to identify in many cases. In my case, through a series of steps, I ended up in the new discipline of Ceramic Engineering, finishing as the first full time graduate and the first post graduate (PhD) in Australia. Such was the exciting possibilities at that time. 

For my post doctoral work I had a choice of two directions, industry or research. Both were open to me but there was no one I could discuss these choices with from a moral point of view, even if the question of morals had occurred to me at the time, which it didn't. I should add that I was a disciple of Jesus by this time.

Eventually I chose to stay in Australia and pursue a career in industry.

If I had chosen, the offered, post doctoral research in the USA, I would have been involved in research about nuclear triggers for the nuclear bomb industry. Such was the thrust of most Ceramic research in those days. It was purely the grace of God that kept me away from that direction. 

In biblical terms there should have been other Christians who could have pointed out the moral consequences of the decision I faced. There was none that I knew of, or would have sought if I had known of one. 

Here is one crucial area I believe that biblical eldership should have applied. It was even worse since by this time I was considered an elder” in my local church. What a travesty of the concept of eldership (or more properly ‘oldership’.

One important caveat. I am not arguing here for an eldership which directs people, but one that, in consultation, can advise those younger in the faith. The former ‘directing’ form gave rise in the late 20th Century to the heavy shepherding movement which devastated many lives.

Why have I described my experience in such detail? Surely, you might say, such decisions are simple, automatic and nothing to do with our faith. I would beg to differ. Once we are citizens of the Kingdom of God we come under a higher standard than otherwise. The decision about the direction of our life is a crucial one. There are many other crucial decisions, at various stages of life, that would benefit from godly counsel.

We tend to assume that it is only in the so called “faith” area that elders should be involved. However this assumes a duality of life. Life in the Kingdom of God is not a duality but a unity. All of life is “spiritual”. All of life is the concern of our King, the Lord Jesus.

In the one example I gave above, the direction of my life was set for n a particular direction. It is not to say that God could not have directed me from Sandia Laboratories in New Mexico, but it would have been a different direction. I probably would have made far more money in the USA and have had a high profile in the nuclear industry. But at what cost.

My point is more about the morality of my decision. Industry or the atomic bomb. It seems clear now. Then it was not so clear. A mature elder could well have pointed out the issues involved.

How does this apply today? There are many ethical issues involved in career choices. Christian ethical investors usually concentrate on a very limited group of “no go” companies: tobacco, alcohol, armaments, etc). But there are many other areas that need careful consideration. Areas such as banking, financial companies that use money as a commodity rather than a means of trade, theatre that involves questionable activities, some parts of the legal industry and aspects of the accountancy industry, companies that exploit the poor and disadvantaged, politics where you have to compromise personal values, etc. I am not saying any of these areas are ‘no go’, but they need mature consideration. It is interesting how many of this list are in the financial sector.

Just getting a job is not enough. The type of job is just as important.

Checklist for a mature disciple of Christ, especially one in leadership

 The following checklist is offered as a summary of the Biblical requirements for eldership, as I understand it. It is not meant to be a legalistic document, but one against which we can examine ourselves and see where there is room for improvement. It is offerered for your consideration and comment.

All these things are but an unpacking of what it means to love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and with all your strength, and loving your neighbour as yourself.

Checklist for a mature disciple of Christ

especially one in leadership

General..

• Servant of Christ.
• What He says goes, without question.
• Slave of Christ.
• No personal rights.
• No personal opinion.
• Personal encounter with Jesus.
• Crucified with Christ.
• Born again by the Spirit.
• Personal encounter with Holy Spirit.
• Aware of, and operating in, the gifts of the Spirit.
• Fruit of the Spirit demonstrated.
• Awareness of being a son of Father.
• Rights and responsibilities.
• Honouring earthly parents, or their memory.
•  Fulfilling the mission of Jesus.
• Family  (Jerusalem).
• Community (Judea).
• Wider afield (ends of the earth).
• Committed to lifelong learning (discipleship).
• Biblical literacy.
• Whole Bible.
• Awareness of major themes.
• Not proof texting.
• In context: within the Canon,  historical, cultural.
• Regularity of Bible reading and study.
• Devotional reading.
• Systematic reading.
• Reading for deeper understanding.
• Able to teach the whole bible, not just to “cherry pick” our favourite passages or topics.
• Become like Jesus in THIS life.
• Strongholds have been dealt with, to the extent that they are known.
• Teachable & Accountable
• Open to correction by
• the Bible,
• family,
• elders of the Church,
• others.
• Active Prayer life.
• Attitude of thanksgiving.
• Fulfilling the requirements of 1Tim 3 

"Now the overseer is to be

• above reproach,
• faithful to his wife,
• temperate,
• self-controlled,
• respectable,
• hospitable,
• able to teach,
• not given to drunkenness,
• not violent but gentle,
• not quarrelsome,
• not a lover of money.
• He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)
• He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
• He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

 In the same way, deacons are to be 

• worthy of respect,
• sincere,
• not indulging in much wine,
• and not pursuing dishonest gain.
• They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.
• They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

 In the same way, the women are to be

• worthy of respect,
• not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well."

(1Ti 3:2-12 NIV)

 Specific.

• Love not life even unto death.
• Evidence of overcoming obstacles.
• Understanding of your call to ministry.
• Evidence of discipling others.
• Transparency of life.
• Unconditional obedience to Jesus & the Gospel.
• Clear testimony.
• Able to give an account of “the hope that is in you” at any time or place.
• Purity of life.
• Words.
• Actions.
• Motives.
• Unconditional love of God and His people.
• And our “enemies”.
• Commitment to the Body of Christ.
• Serving the brethren.
• Assembling together.
• Not damaging the “weaker brother “.
• Willing to serve in even menial tasks, especially if you are a leader.
• The greater the leadership position, the more you are to serve.
• Financial matters.
• None of our money, or resources,  is ours, it is given to us on trust.
• All our giving is to be joyful and generally in secret.
• Tithing is  the “base line”.
• Refusing to tithe is theft.
• We tithe to Jesus, ie where He shows us, but generally where we get our “food”.
• The tithe can be used for a joyful festival where those of lesser means are invited without charge.
•  Generosity is the standard in all giving.
• We have a responsibility to support those in the faith when they have a special need.
• Laziness is not to be tolerated or supported. We are not to support those who can work, but refuse to. 
• Reliance on God for our supply. 
•  Need to examine the need for insurances, saving plans, investments, etc. Do these activities reflect our dependence on Jesus? 
•  Charging of interest not allowed. 
•  Give without expecting to be paid back. 
•  Absolute integrity in all matters.

The Orchestra of Creation

Don't you love it when scientists discover things they think eliminate God from the world and end up proving just the opposite?

I have been fascinated for years by the developments in theoretical physics to do with the origin of the universe. Without retracing ground I have written on before I will begin at the point of string theory and the voice of God.

Put too simply, string  theory says that at the base of all reality we do not have the elementary particles that we learnt about in school, but rather we find that reality consists of vibrating “strings” that together make up all the elementary particles. These require 10 dimensions to exist instead of the 4 that we are normally aware of; 3 spatial and one time.

My take on this from a theological point of view is that these extra dimensions are the ones blocked from us at the Fall when there was a “curtain” dropped that separated the physical from the spiritual dimensions. We were left in a physical world in which we were only aware of the 4 dimensions. The lost dimensions were hidden from us, as it were. However in the new creation in Jesus these have been restored to us. We now see in part, but when Jesus appears we will see in fullness. What we now see in part are extra dimensions such as prophecy, miracles, healings, glimpses of eternity, etc.

The string vibrations are the voice of God. Just as the vibration of a violin string produces sound, music, so the vibration of the strings of the universe is the result of the music, sound, voice, of God. It is what musicians have called the music of the spheres. God's voice is at the basis of everything. “And God said, let there be …”

The latest discoveries suggest that this view of string theory has a major flaw, the problem of infinity, where at the centre of all there  is a “singularity” which results in the problem of infinity where nothing can hold together. In fact there is an “infinity of infinities.”

Stephen Hawking was an opponent of string theory because of this problem of infinity. Now he says that the problem is overcome by the latest discoveries.

The  latest discovery is that rather than individual strings vibrating, the strings form clumps which vibrate in an even more complex manner, called membranes. To me this sounds like an analogy of an orchestra. This is called super string theory and requires 11 dimensions.

So now we do not have singular notes in this “music of the spheres” but we have the complex melody of an orchestra: an even more wonderful sound. It sounds a bit like the sound of heaven spoken of in Revelation 4-5.

I know that I have oversimplified complex matters of theoretical physics, and drawn conclusions that need more explanation,  But  in their search for elegant solutions to the formation of the universe, physicists have come up with a beautiful description of Genesis 1 where God created by His Word,  with the added bonus of God's continuing upholding of creation by His Word in the continuing underlying orchestral symphony of matter.

Isn't God great! The more scientists try to explain  the universe without God, the more they reveal the majesty and beauty of God to those who have the spiritual eyes to see by faith.

In fact there was a further postscript to the latest work, and that is that there are 10 to the power of 500 (ie 1 with 500 zeros) universes predicted by a their theories. I wonder what more they will discover to glorify our great and wonderful God.

Psalm 53:1 NIV
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
Psalm 2:4 NIV
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.