Called to do God’s Will

My articles for The Southern Cross for the greater part of this year have focused on the different visions and projects that I have pursued at different stages of my life.

“The question is: Has God called me to fail, or have I been chasing false visions that have nothing to do with what God has called me to do in life?” (Graphic: The Southern Cross)

At each stage I felt that God was calling me to do something good and great as briefly explained below.

At one point I thought I was called to be a Jesuit priest, but I gave up the idea as a result of what I later considered to be a minor reason.

At another point I thought God was calling me to establish a Catholic university. Indeed I initiated the project that led to the establishment of St Augustine College of South Africa; but by the time the college came into being I was no longer part of the project.

The next stage was when, with great zeal and conviction, I led the formation of an interdenominational Christian Practice Movement which subsequently fizzled out.

My wife and I were then convinced about making a contribution to the development of good leadership in Africa, but the activities of the Lead and Inspire School of Leadership have not as yet made a significant impact on the poor leadership that is so characteristic, not only of Africa, but of the whole wide world.

The question is: Has God called me to fail, or have I been chasing false visions that have nothing to do with what God has called me to do in life?

My reflection on this question and these experiences has led me to ponder on how God calls people in different ways and what should be our response. There are different kinds of calling, and here I identify only four types.

First, there are some people for whom the calling is clear and apparently unambiguous.

Consider, for example, the life of Paul the Apostle. Once Jesus called him there was no turning back, and despite all trials and tribulations he knew that he was called to be the apostle of the gentiles. And so he became God’s instrument in the development of the early Church and laid the foundations of missionary work for all time.

There are some servants of God who may initially feel the zeal and conviction of doing something great for God, but may become disillusioned with their work even if they are successful.

Bl Mother Teresa of Kolkata was one of this kind. There was a time when, in spite of the outward success of her congregation, she felt disillusioned, feeling that she did not have Jesus in her and even going to the extent of doubting the existence of God.

It is my firm conviction that there are some priests whose initial zeal for the ministry subsequently wanes and their work becomes a mere drudgery. They may continue to say Mass and preach, but without the fire and conviction they had when they were first called.

There are some humble servants of God, typified by married women and mothers. Some of them may not even be aware that theirs is a calling. They just feel that they have to do what they have to do — taking care of their families from day to day without any sense of doing something great for God and his Church.

I have a relative, a school teacher, whose husband used to be a successful man. For the last two or three decades he has been completely paralysed, unable to do anything for himself. For her the husband has become worse than a baby: She bathes him every day; cleans him when he soils himself; puts napkins on him and feeds him. For decades this has been her routine day in and day out.

Then there are those like myself who feel called to do something but fail to see the fruit of their labour. Nothing of great substance ever seems to work. One has been involved in projects, but nothing seems worthy of going down in the annals of history.

My reflections on these and other cases have led me to conclude that what we are called to do, is to do God’s will — nothing more, nothing less.

There is a tendency in us to look at our calling from the perspective of what satisfies us; but God calls us, not for our purpose, but for his purpose. What we should aim to do in this life in terms of self-satisfaction is to do God’s will and leave the rest to him.

There is therefore a need for us to reconcile self-actualisation and submission with the will of God. The next series of articles will explore this theme in some detail.