God's Call and the Holy Scriptures
Senior 3 · Religion and Ethics
God's Call and the Holy Scriptures
Lesson 4 of 4
25 min
At a careers day, five visitors speak to an S3 class: a nurse from the district hospital, a parish priest, the imam of the local mosque, a primary teacher and a young agronomist. Each one is asked the same question: "Why do you do this work?" Several answer in words like "I felt called to it". This lesson asks what Christianity and Islam mean by a calling to religious and social service, and how a young person can discern, that is, work out, a vocation of their own.
Definition
Religious vocation: a call to serve God and the community through the life and work of a faith, for example as a priest, pastor, religious sister or brother, catechist or imam.
Social service: work that meets people's needs, such as health care, teaching, social work, caring for orphans, the elderly or people with disabilities, and peacebuilding.
Gifts (or talents): the abilities a person has received from God and is responsible for using well.
Discernment: careful, prayerful reflection to recognise what God is calling a person to do.
| Christianity | Islam |
|---|---|
| Ordained ministers: bishops, priests and deacons in the Catholic and Anglican churches; pastors and ministers in Protestant churches. They preach, lead worship and care for a congregation. | Imam: leads the congregational prayers and often preaches the Friday sermon (khutbah). Islam has no priesthood; an imam is chosen for knowledge and good character. |
| Religious life: sisters and brothers who take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and serve in schools, hospitals and parishes. | Muezzin: calls the faithful to prayer with the adhan, five times a day. |
| Lay ministries: catechists, choir leaders, youth leaders, evangelists. | Teachers and scholars: teachers of the Qur'an in the madrasa; scholars ('ulama) who explain Islamic law and teaching. |
In Christianity, every baptised person has gifts to use for others:
"Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds of workings, but the same God who works all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all." (1 Corinthians 12:4–7)
"As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10)
Even ordinary work becomes service of God: "And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Colossians 3:23).
In Islam, all honest work done with the right intention (niyyah) is part of worship, and abilities are a trust (amanah) from Allah:
"And say (unto them): Act! Allah will behold your actions, and (so will) His messenger and the believers, and ye will be brought back to the Knower of the invisible and the visible, and He will tell you what ye used to do." (Qur'an 9:105)
The Qur'an tells believers to "help ye one another unto righteousness and pious duty" (Qur'an 5:2), and reassures them that "Allah tasketh not a soul beyond its scope" (Qur'an 2:286): each person is asked only for what they can give.
Neither faith expects a voice from the sky for every decision. Most people discover their vocation gradually, through prayer, honest self-knowledge, advice and experience. The steps below are a cycle, because a vocation keeps growing throughout life:
| A gift you may notice | Ways it could serve others |
|---|---|
| patience with children | teaching, catechesis, Qur'an school, youth work |
| care for the sick | nursing, medicine, community health work, chaplaincy |
| a gift for listening and speaking | preaching, counselling, journalism, peacebuilding |
| skill with soil and animals | farming, agronomy, veterinary work, caring for the environment |
| music and singing | choir leadership, teaching music, recitation of the Qur'an |
Worked example
Case study (illustrative): Uwase discerns. Uwase, in S3, loves biology and is the one her neighbours call when a child is sick.
Tip
Where joy meets need. A vocation is often found where what you love doing and do well meets what the people around you truly need.
Warning
Common mistakes. (1) Choosing a path only for money or status, without asking whether it serves others. (2) Thinking a vocation must be decided once, at fifteen, and never change. (3) Thinking only religious jobs count: both faiths honour honest work done well for God and neighbour.
Discuss. Is it possible to be called to an ordinary job, such as driving a bus or selling vegetables? Use Colossians 3:23 and Qur'an 9:105 in your answer.
Practice
Remember
Further reading
Sources and credits
