Choosing the right Job

One of the things that I want to share with you this morning is something that we deal with quite often: how do we make our choice of jobs? With the markets picking up, very often calls come in from headhunters. Typically the bait that is always offered, and what we obviously look for, is better prospects and one of the things that we struggle with (I struggle with) is – how much of that is actually correct motivation? How do we decide what should be the paradigm or grid that we make our choices with?

One of the books that I have found very useful is a book called “Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot” by Max Lucado. He talks about the sweet spot that each one of us has. This sweet spot is basically a point of convergence between

1. Who we are? What our natural talents are?
2. Where we live, what time and space we live
3. What are our motivations? The things that drive us, the passions that we have.

He makes a proposition that when these three areas converge, who we are, where we are and what drives us, that point of convergence is called the sweet spot. The term comes from the game of golf where the person finds himself right in the sweet spot, where he hits the ball perfectly.

If each one of us, myself included, when we are operating in that sweet spot, I can sense a difference. Then it is as if you were hitting the ball beautifully, your work is flowing well and you are just doing what you are really made to do. But when we step out of that, that’s when the problems arise. As a fisherman once said in the Bible (1 Peter 5:6-7) “So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; He’ll promote you at the right time.”

What I would like to share this morning is that perhaps too often we really consult our greed rather than our strength when we are making decisions about the choices that we make.

I am sure most of us have heard some variation of this story. A businessman used to buy popcorn every day from the vendor on the street and one day he arrived to find the vendor closing at noon. The conversation went something like this:

Businessman: “Is something wrong?”
Vendor: smiling, “No, not at all. Everything’s well.”
B: “Why are you closing your popcorn stand?”
V: “So I can sit on the porch and have tea with my wife.”
B: “But the day is young. You can still sell.”
V: “No need. I have made enough money today.”
B: “Enough? You should make more. You should keep working.”
V: “Why should I keep working?”
B: “to sell more popcorn.”
V: “Why should I sell more popcorn?”
B: “Because the more you sell, the more you make. The more you make, the richer you are. The richer you are, the more popcorn stands you can buy. The more popcorn stands you buy, the more peddlers will sell your product and you become richer and when you have enough, you can stop working, sell your popcorn stands and stay at home and sit on the porch with your wife and drink tea.”
V: “I can do that today. I guess I have enough.”

But very rarely I think, any of us will be able to say, “We have enough.” We always want more. When we go to McDonalds, we want to super size our order. We want bigger TV screens, bigger flats, cupboards, etc. We as Indians have joined the international thing where we want everything.

It is said that in the 1950s, American families owned one car and saved for a second. In 2000, 1 in 5 families own 3 cars or more. As we look around Mumbai we can see that happening here as well. America has doubled the number of shopping malls than it has schools. In 1900, the average person wanted 72 different things and considered 18 of them essential. Today the average person wants 500 things and considers 100 of them essential. With this demand comes a hefty price tag and we spend a full one-fourth of our income to service outstanding debt. We no longer measure ourselves against the Joneses next door but against the star on the screen or the Bollywood model that we see on the film screen.

That’s why the Bible warns us in Luke 12:15 to “be on guard against every form of greed.” Greed comes in many forms: greed for approval, greed for applause, greed for status, greed for best office, the bigger car, the prettiest wife. Greed has many faces but speaks one language and that is MORE.

Epicurus wrote thousands of years ago that “Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.” More recently somebody asked John D. Rockefeller, “How much money does it take to satisfy a man?” and he answered, “Just a little more.”

The wisest man who lived wrote, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

Lucado says, “Greed has a growling stomach. Feed it and you risk more than budget-busting debt. You risk losing purpose. Greed can seduce you out of your sweet spot.”

Just as we heard about the popcorn peddler who has one stand and one job and he does that well and through that his daily needs are met. If he makes more money, he buys more stands and then he starts becoming a supervisor and he no longer sells he manages; which is fine if he was made to be a manager. But supposing he was not made to be a manager but a seller, suppose he swaps being out on the streets for a desk in a room which is not what really gives him enjoyment in what he does, will he give up more than he gains?

I want to tell you that the first parable that was written was about a couple of trees which illustrates this well. It’s a story of a person called Jothan who is the son of one of the Judges and he wrote this about a couple of trees. He says, “Once upon a time the trees decided to elect a king. First they said to the olive tree, “Be our king.” It refused saying, ‘Should I quit producing the olive oil that blesses God and people just to wave back and forth over trees?’ So they said to the fig tree, ‘You be our king.’ But the fig tree also said, ‘Should I quit producing sweet juice just to wave back and forth over trees?’ then they went to the grapevine and said, ‘You be our king.’ The grapevine said, ‘Should I quit producing the wine that cheers both God and people just to wave back and forth over trees?’ So finally they went to the thorn bush and said, ‘Be our king.’ He said, ‘If you want me to be your king, then come and take shelter in my shade.’ In this, God warns against greed-driven promotions. The trees entice the olive tree, the fig tree and the grapevine to reign over them. One by one they refuse the offer. The olive tree wants to keep giving oil, the fig tree wants to keep giving figs and the vine wants to keep bearing grapes. All refused to pay the price of promotion. These plants took pride in their posts (why abandon fruitfulness?) and in the end, only the thorn bush takes the offer.

This is a story that we can take with us. In our desire to be great, we may sometimes cease to be any good. Not every teacher is equipped to be a principal, not every mechanic can head a crew, and not every musician can be a conductor of an orchestra. Sometimes I think for each one of us, myself included, promotions can promote a person out of his sweet spot; for the love of more, we might lose our purpose. If trees offer you royalty, you don’t have to take it. And if a king offers you armor, you don’t have to wear it.

We have a similar story to note, the story of David and Goliath. David was a small man, Saul a big man. Saul tried giving David his armor to wear but it was too big for him and he said, “I can’t go in these. I am not used to this.” David rejected the armor. It might fit a king but it did not fit him.

Just because someone hands you armor, you don’t have to wear it. Just because someone gives you advice, a job or promotion, you don’t have to accept it. Let your uniqueness define your path of life. Examine your gifts, know your strengths. “Have a sane estimate of your capabilities” is what Paul says in Romans 12:3. When someone tries to bump you out of your sweet spot, you need to say, ‘This is who I am and this is where I am sticking.”

Let’s not heed greed. Greed makes a poor job counselor. Greed tells fig trees to bear no figs and olive trees to bear no oil. ‘Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have.” (Hebrews 13:5). Is not the right job with little better than the wrong job with much? “It’s better to have little with fear for the Lord than to have great treasure with turmoil.” says Proverbs 15:16. And the Japanese proverb says “Even if you sleep in thousand-mat room, you can only sleep on one mat.” Don’t let the itch for things or the ear for applause derail you from your God-intended design.

I close with this story.  In a book called Money: A User’s Manual, the author Bob Russell describes a farmer who once grew discontent with his farm. He griped about the lake on his property always needing to be stocked and managed. The hills that were rolling and forced his car to drive up and down, the cows that went through his pasture, all the fencing and feeding. He decided to sell and move somewhere nice. So he called the real estate agent and told him to put it up for sale. A few days later, the agent called for approval for the advertisement that she wanted to play. As she read the ad to the farmer, she described the lovely farm in an ideal location, quiet and peaceful, contoured with rolling hills, carpeted with soft meadows, nourished by fresh lakes and blessed with well-fed livestock. The farmer said, “Read it to me again.” After hearing it a second time, he said, “I’ve changed my mind. I am not going to sell. I have been looking for a place like that all my life.”

Paul would have applauded the farmer. He had learned the same lesson. ”I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” (Philippians 4:11)

I say this to myself, before you change your job title; examine your perspective towards life. Success is not defined by position or pay-scale but by doing the most of what you do the best. And I also will advise those of us who have children, pass that on to your kids as well. We need to teach them and tell them to do what they love, to do well so that someone pays them to do it.

God Bless You All.