So Jonah, what do you do for a living?

I play basketball every now and then on Saturday mornings  with some guys at a local church gym. There are always new guys showing up and inevitably the first question a guy will ask is, “So, Jonah, what do you do?"

 

As if two bulls just met head on in an open field, nostrils flaring, bloodshot eyes, sizing one another up to reveal who is the most successful and has the largest income. I’ve been tempted to say, “I am a Christ follower first, then a husband, and then a father. What do you do?”  But I think that would be  what Jon Acuff calls a “Jesus juke”. So I refrain.

 

I’ve also been tempted to reply, “What do I do with what?” or “Well, I don’t know, you haven’t given me two choices.” But I always just play the game and end up telling them what I do. Then I stand there with my eyes closed and brace myself as he squeezes my hand and stares me up and down. He’ll quickly decide based on what I tell him whether or not he will tell me what he does. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? It is! Welcome to Church!

 

So why are we Christians so concerned with what each other does for a living? Could it be that our identity is found in what we do for a living and not who we are in Christ? Could it be that our focus is so much on earthly things that we can't see heaven? Sadly, when our occupation becomes our primary preoccupation we begin to lose sight of those around us. Jesus so clearly calls us to die to ourselves so we are able to see the dying world around us.  So next time someone asks you what you do for a living be reminded of who you really are and why you're really here. For there will be for all of us...a time to die. The time for us is now.