"Make This Your Occupation . . . "

"What should my second major be?" This was the question posed by a young man who stopped by my faculty office Monday morning.  He is a freshman and a student in my Survey of American Law course.  Every student here at Handong is expected to have two majors.  Both are to be chosen by the student. 

My young visitor had already chosen his first major -- U.S. & International Law -- the program of study that I was invited to teach.  Now, he was trying to determine his second major.  Should it be Informational Technology -- an area in which he has a keen interest; should it be Management & Economics or something else?

How do you go about answering such questions?  Some might suggest the "standard" answers:  choose a major that will give you a "fall-back" position should your aspirations for law school prove beyond your abilities to achieve.  Or, choose a major that will provide you good job opportunities when you graduate. 

I found myself, though, in a very perplexing spot.  I wanted to be helpful and encouraging to my young student.  But, I did not want to just give him the "quick answer" he was looking for.  Rather, I wanted to challenge and guide him to think for himself.

You see, I'm beginning to learn that most Korean students (and Asian students, in general, for that matter) look to their elders, their professors, their pastors for specific answers.  They want to be told what to do; what to think.  It is especially true, it appears, in Korea because of the cultural influence of Confucianism. 

From my Western perspective, I want to encourage and equip my students to make their own decisions.  I don't want to tell them what to think.  Instead, I endeavor to train them in how to think clearly, critically and wholly.

I believe my young friend may have been a bit disappointment by the counsel he received from me.  I did not give him a simple and direct answer.  Rather, I urged him to consider how God has designed and equipped him to serve others. 

I challenged him to choose a major that would require him to read broadly and write extensively.  If he believed that he should pursue the study of law, he would need to develop and hone his analytical thinking and persuasive reasoning skills.

For the follower of Jesus, the most important question is: what is God's call upon my life? This question can be examined by considering the gifts God has given you -- gifts that equip you to serve others.  The Apostle Paul wrote you his young protégé, Timothy, "You have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you . . . Do not neglect it. Let this be your care and your occupation, and everyone will be able to see your progress" (1 Timothy 4:14-15 NJB).

So your occupation should not be just "your job."  We should be occupied -- that is, we should be devoting our time, our energies, and our lives to the manner of serving others that God has equipped us with gifts to perform.

In short, we should heed God's calling as our occupation in life.  This will transform a student's decision about his major from selecting a course of study that will enable him merely "to make a better living" into choosing a path that will lead him, by God's grace, to "living a better life" by living his life in the service of others.