Siddhartha Gautama, who we commonly refer to now as The Buddha, left his wife and baby to discover enlightenment. There are those who believe that because of his sacrifice, we will all ultimately be saved from the endless circle of death and re-birth. There have been priests who were married and chose the church over their families. There are some who believe that Jesus may have conciously chosen death on the cross (and salvation for those that believe) over the responsibilities of an earthly family. Throughout history, the tradition of leaving one's worldly family to practice a higher level of spirituality is common among many different religious and spiritual philosophies. What you would call selfish, others call selfless. If the act of leaving one's family becomes an act of greater good for the benefit of humanity, it is more sacrifice than selfishness. To you, it may seem strange, selfish or even wrong. But, history is filled with the stories of those who left one life behind to pursue another that ultimately led to greatness as well as those that ultimately led to failure. Who are we to judge which this is?
I see, Thanks Jeff. I think leaving the responsibility of your family would be the worst possible thing anyone could do..... Que cera cera I guess. DD
Accepting the call is not about any glamour or noteriety, I'll tell you that much. Squash any dream of being a person with a title, or respect because of position, and if the "call" is still there... You just might be called. Remember, Jesus "made himself of no reputation." Selflessness will overtake selfishness if it's there. I'm on here somewhere... Look me up if you need me... (hint: snapshots + Yao hat)
paikja83 dude, my personal thoughts are this isnt the best forum to be basing decisions like this on. God and your family. Those are the only contact points you should be concerned with.
Actually, JunkyardDwg didn't mention that the fellow was leaving behind a wife and kids. I inferred that he was just leaving behind his parents and siblings, etc.. So thus not much responsibility leaving, I believe. Its not too hard to separate oneself from their immediate family. Alot of people I know have done that over the years.
Hey pai, I used to be part of a youth group too(I moved), I hope you find your answer and do great things. God bless
If you are single or your wife is comfortable with it, I'd say you can't go wrong serving God fulltime. We should all be doing it but other work distracts us most of the time. But do it because you love Him and want to follow Him. And when times get tough, remember your reward will be eternal. My working reward will last until I spend it, lose it, give it away, throw it away, get tired of it and set it aside or die.
thanks for the words of encouragement. i understand that a rockets fan site isn't exactly the best place to talk about a calling to a life of ministry. honestly, i was just looking for stories and testimonies, or at the very least some encouragement (which i've gotten!). i fully understand that the life i would choose brings no security in any of the worldly things. this wouldn't be hard, as that's how i've been living anyway. honestly, i just get so much joy and inspiration serving in the church, and most of all serving the youth. all that aside, ultimately you're right. God and family. that's all i need to be concerned with, especially to know that this truly is a calling. sometimes i think it helps to just get it out in the open though, no matter what the medium.
Here's my take on it, from a layperson with many friends in ministry. Have you just recently felt called to full-time ministry? If so, stall on God. (I know that sounds horrible.) But don't rush into it. Stay committed to whatever work you're doing currently. If the burden doesn't go away, you know that it is really from God. If it goes away, you obviously are serving Him in the right capacity now, so make that your primary focus.
Exactly. It's hard even for me - and I'm pretty open and understanding - to comprehend the sacrifices he had to make, leaving everything behind, not seeing his family ever again. But I do see the sacfricies he made for something that is of a greater good and I think that's pretty noble. And I never heard anything about his family being against it...like you said it's a different culture with a different mindset. Yeah, I probably should have mentioned that he didn't have any wife or kids. A little bit easier I suppose...but I personally would still find it damn near impossible to completely cut off ties to my mother and brother.
