Relationship between Faith and Vocation - Coursework Example

How Does Faith Motivate You to Pursue a Vocation? al Affiliation] How Does Faith Motivate You to Pursue a Vocation? Muchhas been written about the issue of relating faith to vocation. General consensus is that it is important to know specifically how faith can be expressed in the life of a service care provider. Integration has to do with Christianity and it can be expressed by way of relating religion and therapy. It is our responsibility as conscious human beings to integrate the perspective of faith in everything we do in life. It is this act of integrating faith in all fields of life which plays a role of prodigious importance in helping us stay on the right path. I have a strong vocation for child and family services because this field offers the most opportunity for integration of faith. Following discussion seeks to illuminate the reality of this claim that “developing a strong bond between faith and vocation can help one give a definite spiritual meaning to professions like child and family services.” Fea (2010) claims that people are obligated to use whatever knowledge they have in promoting common good according to how it is stipulated in the Bible. According to Hughes & Hughes (2005), it is our duty as Christians to use our skills in a manner that reflects the position we are given by God. Christians believe that God is very pleased when He sees His people using their skills in accordance with the Holy Scriptures. In Matthew 5: 44, Jesus announces the desire of God saying, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you” (cited in Scheele, 2006, p. 131). Therefore, it is a religious obligation of children and family service providers to remain professional under all circumstances and help their clients despite their inadequacies. We are not sent by our Lord to greedily advance our personal interests while eschewing the welfare of humanity. It is due to the fact that we have stopped seeing faith and vocation as two entities inextricably linked to one another that such despair and anguish has taken the place of peace in our lives. Remembering the teachings of Jesus Christ when interacting with disadvantaged children and families is bound to motivate us to give our best to those in need because of this influential message in our minds that we have to die one day and answer God. It is important to enumerate just how faith can be expressed by a professional within the field of children and family services. For example, a child of divorced parents can be assisted by a certified specialist in dealing with pressures of daily life by encouraging his/her faith. Every time a disadvantaged child is brought by children welfare services into the care of a child specialist, faith can be integrated in vocation by delivery of compassionate care. Faith can also be expressed by way of giving children who are brought under care of professionals good quality clothes and comfortable bedding. Such measures can help to encourage faith in children because they urge them to believe in this optimistic vision that there exist people in this world who care for them. This kind of vision contributes to strengthening faith in children because they have impressionable minds and they believe in what they see. It is not necessary to invest time in engineering intricate strategies to accomplish the objective of expressing faith in vocation. Rather, simple professional steps like pleasantly interacting with clients can also lead to momentous consequences. Professionals in children and family services should acknowledge that even simple steps are powerful enough to convey big messages of love and compassion. Choosing the vocation of children and family services to associate with faith can facilitate people in staying away from the kind of mechanical lifestyle which is prevalent today and which has made us “lose touch with the pulse of life” (Delio, 2001, p. 163). This vocation is especially suited to application of faith because it is founded on the ideology of providing assistance to those individuals who lack power and resources in an attempt to improve their position in society. As a conscientious professional, one is expected in this field to help out the suffering and the poor in order to assist them in reaching their full potential. It is due to nature of work required of professionals in this field that absence of faith can make the journey seem even more tedious. Remembering the word of God in such situation helps us to stay on the right path. According to Hebrews 1: 12, the word of God is so powerful that “it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;” (cited in Clair-Hull, 2006, p. 80). One finds oneself surrounded by a variety of cases marked by brutality and misery in professions like children and family services. In such arduous circumstances, care providers can benefit immensely from inculcation of the word of God because it offers real strength and tolerance which help to survive. Bringing faith and vocation together in one place can help professionals to become accomplished in different areas of spiritual development. The book of James especially focuses indefinitely on the attitude of the heart. This attitude should be right to be able to help others in accordance with the biblical teachings. James 1: 22 promotes God as an emotional and compassionate figure who “is concerned with what we do” (Clair-Hull, 2006, p. 81). This means that how we function in our lives is not hidden from God because He is most concerned with our actions. James 1: 27 suggests that God is also concerned with “how we treat one another” (Clair-Hull, 2006, p. 81). Such biblical perspectives emphasize on loving everyone regardless of their individual deficiencies. These perspectives should be implemented by professionals interested in the vocation of children and family services. Concluding, faith and vocation should go hand in hand because this can help us to grow spiritually and enjoy peace of mind. Present times are characterized by fierce competitiveness and materialism which have caused us human beings to invest all energy in getting ahead of each other. Things like faith which were most important once have become secondary now and other things attract us to different professions. However, faith should be prioritized in all vocations in life. Children and family services is a vocation which can help professionals live out their faith by enriching their minds and souls with the influence of unique and emotional experiences. It can help them realize that death, sickness, and suffering are not abstract things, but very much real and powerful. References: Clair-Hull, J. (2006). Strategies for Educating African American Children. Urban Ministries Inc. Delio, I. (2001). Simply Bonaventure: An Introduction to His Life, Thought, and Writings. New City Press. Fea, J. (2010). Confessing history: Explorations in Christian faith and the historian’s vocation. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press. Hughes, R., & Hughes, R. (2005). The vocation of the Christian scholar: How Christian faith can sustain the life of the mind. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Scheele, C. (2006). The Christian and the Struggle With Truth. Father’s Press. Read More