I’d imagine that most surgeons are careful to get adequate rest. After all, who wants to be the guy to have to say “I’m sorry about your brother’s botched facial implants, but I was out last night until 4 AM with the fellas pounding beers and watching UFC reruns…” It’s the kind of job that builds into itself a certain accountability.
Raising support was never easy for us (though for some it just comes naturally, we were not those “some”) and it was at times a dread. But one of the perks of a job where you raise support was a certain sense of accountability that is not present in other jobs.
For all intents and purposes, my job now with Starbucks (the leading purveyor of the finest coffee in the world) works the same way. Somebody gives my company money, and my company pays me to provide a service. The difference is that, in raising support, the ones paying are not receiving the service. And that adds a level of accountability to my use of their money that the person at Starbucks doesn’t have. I was really being their hands and feet out on the mission field (providing a service on their behalf instead of providing them that service) and it governed how I used the money given to me. I should note that, ideally, this is how any job should work–you are stewarding someone else’s resources, seeking to bring them the most benefit. It just feels different in ministry.
I am so thankful that my job in ministry taught me how to be accountable to others in my financial life. Money fights and money problems are a leading cause of divorce. Working in donation-funded missions has helped me to learn to communicate better about money issues, and to be better accountable to others. At times I could feel myself running against the individualistic culture of America. And that’s a very good thing.
Like a surgeon who knows it’s time to go home and get some rest, I really appreciated that my job helped me to grow into a more responsible, accountable human.
What are you thankful for about your current or past jobs? Let us know in the comments.