__________________
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 KJV
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 KJV
The pastor would be gearing his sermons around this guy/girls job. He'd call in a prophet to give a public word of rebuke against this individual's profession.
If the pastor was an idiot.
Whatever happened to respecting what the Holy Ghost convicts people of (ie the person who quits their job because they feel it conflicts with thier Christian lifestyle and/or witness?
I waitressed but never served Liquor. My boss respected that.
__________________ Mrs. LPW
Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
__________________
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 KJV
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 KJV
Whatever happened to respecting what the Holy Ghost convicts people of (ie the person who quits their job because they feel it conflicts with thier Christian lifestyle and/or witness?
I waitressed but never served Liquor. My boss respected that.
I was a DJ in a hotel lounge for a while. They wanted me to bar tend, but I wouldn't. (I'm not against drinking per say.)
It was a job..... and everyone there knew how I felt and respected it as well. I had some very good friends.
And until recently I was also a general DJ doing ballroom dances and the occasional wedding. I left my customer base since we moved, which the only reason I am not doing it now. I played all the old classics but there were a couple of popular songs I refused to play and didn't even have them on my PC's hard drive. Songs like "Strokin" by Clarence Carter or "short short man", which was all the rage in the bars and clubs a few years back.
That is the exact type of scenario I was thinking about. Someone leaving a position where they have real talent and taking shift work somewhere -if they can even find it.
I think of the movie Chariots of Fire where one of the main characters says "God made me fast!".
Great Point Randy!
I need to be careful here,<<< Deep Breath>>> Here I go... I find it ludicrous that some people are actually against some of the jobs listed. a T.V. Repairman? Come on! Someone who works at the back lot of a Hollywood Movie set? How on earth are we supposed to make any difference in our culture if we refuse to get involved in any of it?
The social make-up of the organization (UPC,etc) has made any job other than that of a preacher, second-class citizens. This starts when a visiting preaching comes and spends the first 30 minutes of his sermons relating funny stories about him and the pastor (kind of a reference to "the club").
It is propogated even more when one goes to Bible College (as was my expirience) and the Ministerial clubs are held in higher honor than the missionary clubs, music clubs, etc. IF someone is asked what are you going to be, and the answer is, "a teacher at a school",the response is lukewarm. if the response is "a missionary"; it's a little better. , but it you say "Pastor", or "Evangelist", the response is "Wow! The power of God is on your life!, Keep up the good work!"
And finally in the Local church all the "little people" with jobs that are not involved in ministry, are told that their lives need to be more involved in "the ministry" like teaching sunday school, taking up the offering, showing up for church prayer at 6 in the morning.
Where did we get the idea that preachers are the only ones who can get paid to minister? What about Farmer Bob who goes out and tills the land and raises animals for the glory of God? What about the school teacher who goes to school every day and teaches kids, and then goes home and prays for them? What about those serving in military who choose to serve our God by serving his nation, and lifting another soldiers spirits? What about the computer technician who spends his days fixing other peoples problems... isn't their work all a form of ministry? Aren't they representing Jesus Christ to those who see them everyday? (and well I guess Farmer Bob could representing Jesus to the cows!)
I had a job that most people would consider to be not appropriate, I was a massage therapist for four years. I did not quit because of conviction, I quit because it was too expensive to maintain my license in the state where I moved. In my job, I had the most awesome opportunities to witness. People who generally come to massage therapy are people who are stressed and tired. Life has beaten them up and they want rest. I had a woman who had just lost her mother, we prayed together for almost the whole hour while I gave her a massage. I had repeat clients that came in, I was never afraid of sharing my faith, and they would ask for prayer, or church recommendations. My job was to serve these people and I did that job with success. Was I ever put in an uncomfortable position, yep. God always gave me an oppotunity to gracefully move away from it. There were times I had up to 8 clients a day, for and hour at a time,in a quiet room. Other than a therapist, is there any job that offers that kind of ministering opportunity?
God showed me favor and I promoted to a massage teacher. I had the opportunity to teach anatomy to unbelievers and show them how fearfully and wonderfully made we are. I shared my faith in the classroom because 'spirituality' is seen as positive in that realm (most of the 'spirituality' was new age, but not when I was teaching!) I could share whatever I liked. I would tell the students about prayer and serving others.
I would say the jobs that I feel like Christians ought not do, are;
Exotic Dancer
Mob Boss
Hit Man
Pimp
Prostitute
Travel agent for Thailand
__________________
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
"You will be hated for my sake-Just remember that it should be for MY sake and not YOURS-
Do NOT act in such a way as to be offensive, and then blame it on me"
I see nothing wrong with being the prison executioner-- someone has to flip the switch!
Even I would have a conviction about being an underwear/swimwear model.
I'd like to add that Christians should not be:
*undercover cia agents (or anything along that line of work)
*tv sit-com or hollywood screen actors (for most shows and movies around today anyway)
*drug dealer
* any job that prevents any kind of Christian fellowship at long stretches of time.
Of course I have no issues with Christians killing other people in the context of war. However, I have never given thought (before just now) to the idea of, "What if the other guy taking my bullet or feeling the heat from my bombs is also, a Christian?"
But then again, he's trying to kill me so I kill him first-- in the context and only in the context of war can I really rationalize all of this.
__________________
"The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character."
As an aside from the many hair threads (of which even this may touch on slightly) imagine the following scenario:
A gentlemen starts coming to church and gets baptized. A few or so later he stands up and tells the rest of the congregation a little bit about himself. A few have probably already heard some details through the grape vine and began the "whisper campaign". Also assume the church is one of the more conservative Southern/Texas/West Coast ones as well.
During the mans short talk he says "And I have been doing <blank> for a living for the past <so many> years."
The <blank> could be one of the following:
Ballroom dance instructor
Hairdresser/stylist
Set designer on the Universal Studios back lot
Make-up artist for the same company
Manager for local <fill in the blank> jewelry store
On air talent for local television stations news broadcast
Fashion designer
Pit boss or security manager for Ceasers Palace or the Venetian hotel or some other casino....
How long do you think the average new saint in any of the above jobs, or countless others, would have to switch professions or leave the church? <---Said somewhat TIC, but do you think that the new saint would HAVE to switch professions?
I agreed with Mrs. LPW that the pastor should avoid pressuring the new saint to switch professions. The new convert should be loved and cared for while they grow in the knowledge of the Lord and they develop their own relationship with him.
Once that relationship has been established, then Jesus would lead and open doors as he saw fit.
It was amusing to read some of the jobs that people came up with on this thread that could be worrisome for some folks in the church. I thought of these:
Magician
Mental Health Professional (Psychiatrist)
Tattoo Artists
Belly Dancer
Terrorist
Divorce Attorney
__________________
Isaiah 53:5: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."(KJV)
"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." Dwight L. Moody
I agreed with Mrs. LPW that the pastor should avoid pressuring the new saint to switch professions. The new convert should be loved and cared for while they grow in the knowledge of the Lord and they develop their own relationship with him.
Once that relationship has been established, then Jesus would lead and open doors as he saw fit.
It was amusing to read some of the jobs that people came up with on this thread that could be worrisome for some folks in the church. I thought of these:
Magician
Mental Health Professional (Psychiatrist)
Tattoo Artists
Belly Dancer
Terrorist Divorce Attorney
I already said "attorney" in general
But really... What if there was a woman in the church and her husband was beating her and her children? Would you want a Christian representing her? or just some "shmo" who she could afford?
Wouldn't you want her to have proper (godly) representation?
__________________
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
"You will be hated for my sake-Just remember that it should be for MY sake and not YOURS-
Do NOT act in such a way as to be offensive, and then blame it on me"
I agreed with Mrs. LPW that the pastor should avoid pressuring the new saint to switch professions. The new convert should be loved and cared for while they grow in the knowledge of the Lord and they develop their own relationship with him.
Once that relationship has been established, then Jesus would lead and open doors as he saw fit.
It was amusing to read some of the jobs that people came up with on this thread that could be worrisome for some folks in the church. I thought of these:
Magician Mental Health Professional (Psychiatrist)
Tattoo Artists
Belly Dancer
Terrorist Divorce Attorney
Were those in bold a joke?
__________________
"Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow." ~Aesop
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