Thursday, October 04, 2007

Counting the cost

One of the big growth industries in the Dominican Republic is tourism, but you already knew that, didn't you? Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, La Romana--we all recognize the names, right.

I met Eduardo, a young man who's been a Christian about 6 months now, in Santo Domingo. He is in the university and is studying tourism. He was already in his 3rd year when he became a Christian and now wishes he had chosen another career. Oh he's bright enough and has a good personality, so he can certainly make it, but his concern is how such a job will affect him as a Christian.

I was very impressed that a young man who's only been a Christian a short time would already be thinking along these lines. Having worked in hotels for several years when I was much younger, I know there are things that will make it harder for him. Yet he can overcome them, with the help of Christ and his brethren.

Do you encourage young people to count the cost as they choose a career? Another of the young men in the church there is studying to be a lawyer--another difficult career for a Christian. Now being a lawyer in the Hispanic Caribbean is not the same as being a lawyer in the States--much more of it is drawing up legal papers, etc. Even to be a notary you have to be a lawyer. A sister asked me one time if I thought a lawyer could be an elder. I quipped that I wasn't sure a lawyer could be a Christian, much less an elder. I know it can be done, but it seems to me there is more potential for problems than in many other fields.

Parents, do you guide (not command) your children in their choice of a career? There are careers where lots of money can be made, but most of them pose a great risk to a Christian. Is the money worth the loss of their soul? Other careers are only available in the big cities, like New York, where the church is weak. Are they able to withstand the pressure from the worldliness on every side, with few fellow Christians to support them?

We as parents cannot choose our children's career, but we can help them count the cost.

Tol

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