Every week I spend about 40 hours overseeing both the operations and
marketing functions of a department within my company. When I am not
here crunching numbers, developing and executing strategies, and
managing employees and contractors, I spend another several hours per
week thinking (as I drive, shower, eat, and watch television) about how
to successfully navigate the fundamental changes underway that will,
ironically, eventually, render my role in this industry irrelevant.
Yes, you heard me right. I devote 40 to 50 hours each week to a role
in life that will, in the near future, cease to exist.
So, because of that fact, and the fact that I like to eat, I spend another 12 hours per week sitting in classrooms, working on homework assignments, and taking tests that will culminate in a degree that, hopefully, will allow me to continue providing for my family into the foreseeable future. The twist here, is that the foreseeable future becomes less and less distant all the time. In other words, you used to be able to make occupational plans with a 40 or 50 year mindset. Now, what you spend four years planning to do may no longer be a viable career path in ten years.
All of this monologue thus far is meant to establish the case that, much of what troubles my heart and mind is really an exercise in futility. There is really nothing that a person can truly depend on in this life. You cannot depend on financial security. You cannot depend upon the work you're doing today to be there tomorrow. You cannot depend on physical health. You cannot depend on anyone to keep you "safe." You cannot depend on any of your hopes and dreams actually coming to fruition.
And it is in the midst of this reality that the oft read words of Matthew 6:33 crescendo from red ink on white paper into a thundering refrain that quiets our minds, calms our hearts, and sets our eyes upon a new occupation.
"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
Jesus certainly has a way of turning things around, doesn't he? This verse is found within a broader conversation about the basic needs of life and the human tendency to worry about these things and pursue occupations to secure them. What I think I hear Jesus saying here, is that pursuit of the Kingdom of God must become the occupation out of which all of our needs are met by the only one who IS dependable in this life.
Please approach the bench for a sidebar:
I find two
primary definitions for the word "occupation." The first defines this
word as that with which you are occupied for the sake of your
livelihood. The second definition puts this word in a military
context, describing the state of a place under the control of an
outside force.
What would it look like for an individual to so radically change their way of thinking that they now see as their primary occupation in life to be that of pursuing God and his kingdom? What would it look like for me to wake up in the morning, get dressed, and drive into my workplace with this mindset: above and beyond anything else, my purpose in life for the next 24 hours is to discover the rhythm of God's heart, synchronize with it, and plumb the depths of his character and the realities of his kingdom?
I see both definitions at work here. Could God so completely invade and occupy the space of my heart and mind to the point that pursuit of him and his kingdom becomes the very thing with which I am occupied for the sake of my livelihood?
If we can enter into this reality, then everything else simply becomes the prop-filled setting, or stage, upon which our spiritual occupation is played out. My paycheck-generating activities today lose their place of supremacy and simply become the stage upon which I currently find myself as I harmonize with the heart of God; a stage filled with the props of spreadsheets and market analysis, and budget directives...but simply a stage.
It's in this perspective that transitions from Act 1 to Act 2 with different props and different stage lighting become much less frightening. Instead of fearing the future, fearing the disappearance of some props and the appearance of new, unfamiliar ones, we rejoice that the unchangeable God is still the central character of the story, we are still his beloved ones, we are engaged in the preeminent occupation to which humanity can give itself, and his promise to us remains unshakable:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11
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