The Weekly Fare . . . May 8, 2003

Called To Serve

From time to time, and usually when I least expect it, I get a compliment that goes something like this:

"Stuart Revercomb, I am so proud of you for leaving behind the big dollars of the business world and making the sacrifices necessary to work in the nonprofit end of things . . . If only more people had your vision and willingness."

Which invariably makes me feel like a heel.. I feel called to the work I do and can afford to do it, and therefore I have little other choice in the matter. But that answer usually requires a further explanation of how I ever came to that particular place and conclusion. And that generally requires a good bit of time. So I usually just nod my head in gracious, yet embarrassed acceptance of the compliment paid to the person I am mostly not. (The less noble part of me enjoys this immensely of course.)

But I AM happy in my work and my life's calling. Which is, perhaps, why I am frequently asked by both old and young alike, "How am I to know what MY calling is?" I almost always give the same answer, which is to say I almost always give Frederick Buechner's answer:

"Your calling is where your joy and the needs of the world meet."

Buechner goes on to clarify that if you're good at marketing but spend your time writing cigarette ads you've probably satisfied the first part of the equation but perhaps not the latter. And that if you're a doctor in a leper colony but don't enjoy what you're doing you've probably missed the mark as well. (He adds that there's a good chance you're not doing your patients much good either.)

It makes sense when you think about it. We tend to enjoy what we are "good at," and what we are "good at" tends to be the best way we can make a positive impact on the lives of others. But all that other stuff has to work too.

Like money.

And money and money and money.

I don't think I have ever offered Buechner's bit of wisdom to someone and not had the "money thing" take center stage almost immediately. As soon as the conversation starts, I know that if I only had the chance to bet some money that we will soon be talking about money, that I could make some serious money . . . Because no matter what, we always worry about "the money."

But as a wise man once said, "If money's your biggest problem - you're doing just fine." And you are. You really are. But it's all relative, of course.

If you get a report back from your doctor that you have cancer and only three months to live, whatever other problems you might have, it's no longer about "the money." But if you've just lost your retirement savings in the stock market or have just been laid off as your children are beginning college, it probably seems to be very much about "the money."

Einstein was right about a great many things in life - one of which is that it is, indeed, "all relative."

But it seems evident to me that one's life's calling cannot be about money - that if the old adage is true that, "if you love your work, you therefore never 'work' a day in your life," then no amount of money should ever sway anyone from doing otherwise. Unless, of course, making money is what you are all about in which case I say, have at it - make all the money you can. There's nothing wrong with making money, even if it is just for sake of it. Maybe you'll figure out something good to do with it one day.

But if you're called to something else, for heaven's sake, don't let the money get in the way, because God tends to find ways of making that work - whether that's by allowing it to come from some unexpected source or simply demonstrating that perhaps you didn't need quite as much as you once thought you did. Which is one of the greatest surprises of all, and it often comes with the realization that the things that matter to you most have absolutely nothing to do with money, but rather more to do with time.

Like time with family.

And therein lies the far greater sacrifice.

One particular friend of mine is making just such a sacrifice in answering his true calling. It involves serving in state politics which is about as attractive to me as a vacation in Iraq. But as they say (whoever "they" are) "someone's got to do it." All who know him agree - he was born for this job. You look at his background, his interests, his skills, and you have to say, "Yup. He's the one - no doubt."

Which is the thing about being "called" to something. The word itself implies that someone or something other than the one being called has originated the process - that there is a certain element of divine inspiration in play - of being ordained for a particular purpose for a particular time. And when this is accompanied by a willingness on the part of the one being called to make whatever sacrifice is necessary, it is generally a good indication that something of the great mystery is at work - something much deeper than just a good man or woman trying to "do a worthy cause."

You might say a real calling is almost invariably a "collect call," one requiring you to pay the cost - at least to start the conversation.

So when your time comes, accept the charges . . . Answer the call.