Aligning Your Call with Your Business

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through Him.”  — Colossians 3:17

Do you know your personal calling?  Is your business an expression of your calling?  How do you ensure that you are aligning your call with your business?

Knowing one’s personal calling is one thing, but aligning it with one’s business is another matter entirely. In fact, many entrepreneurs today confuse their calling with their business.  In reality, the business is not the sum total of your call but only one dimension of it.  With that in mind, how do you make sure that the business and the call are aligned? In Colossians chapter three, after exhorting us to reject our old ways and take on the ways of Christ, the Apostle Paul reminds us that anything worth doing must be done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This does not suggest that we place a label with the name of Christ on what we do and hope God is pleased by it, but it does imply that we ensure that what we are doing is Christ honoring and is in line with His will for our lives.  The question then is how do you ensure that what you are doing is glorifying and pleasing Christ?  Listed below are eight basic aspects of a business to consider as you seek to align your business with God’s call for your life.  These steps are used in our Practices of Biblical Entrepreneurship (BE II) class to assist entrepreneurs in developing clear ideas that align with their call or align their existing business with God’s call for their lives.  We call it the Vision and Calling Alignment Pyramid.

The foundation of the Pyramid is motivation, which seeks to help clarify why you are doing what you are doing.  As Simon Sinek states in his bestselling book[1], start with asking “Why?” Most organizations put their focus on what they are doing and how they are doing it, but never address why they are doing it.  Successful companies are fueled not by what they’re doing or how their doing it but rather by why they are doing it.  Our motivation, no matter how it is expressed, must be based on our love for God and for others.

Once your motivation has being determined, then you must clarify your purpose, or what you are doing.  First of all, it’s important to remember that we are all called to reflect the image and likeness of God and be a witness for Him in the earth, though we may do so in differing ways.

Once the purpose is clear, then we must clarify our call.  Though we all have the same purpose, each of us has a different calling.  Calling is the unique way for each of us to realize the purpose God has given us collectively.

Then, we are ready to assess our gifts, skills, and abilities or our competencies. How are you wired?  What are you good at?  What do you enjoy doing?

Next, we are now ready to assess the market need.  Here we determine the problem we have identified and our ability to address that problem with passion that is in line with our call and purpose.  The way we solve these problems is by providing God honoring products and services.  What products and services can we provide to meet the needs that God lays on our hearts?

We are now ready to solidify our idea by articulating our mission and vision statement.  Mission is who we are, while vision is where we are going or what we can achieve and become if our mission is realized.

Conclusively, aligning your business with your call will increase your sense of fulfillment, productivity, and eternal meaning in your business activities, while not aligning them could breed ongoing frustration and a lack of contentment.

My prayer for you today is that God will give you the grace to discover your calling and the wisdom to align your business with your calling so that you may work as unto the Lord and not unto men.  

[1] Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action