What’s Your Eternal Line?

A recent article here at CS triggered memories of a another popular game show of the 1950s and 1960s, “What’s My Line.” It was a quite popular show that ran for 17 years.

The premise of the show was simple. A celebrity panel tried to guess the occupations of mostly unknown guests by asking questions that could only be answered with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’  Many occupations were eventually guessed, but many others remained a mystery.  These were finally revealed by the host upon the expiration of the allotted time.

Given that the world seems intent on forgetting its God, I think we should consider how we would do in the ‘eternal version’ of this once popular game show.

Regardless of who we are, we all have two lines of work, the secular and the eternal. Each line is distinct for the most part, but how we approach each one will largely determine how much these lines merge and where they will ultimately take us.

Our Secular Line

The reference to “line” in the title of the game show, of course, dealt with the phrase “line of work,” defined as the kind of work that one does to earn one’s living.  People often describe their line of work by various adjectives (mundane, routine), or by the field in which they work (health care, real estate, law).  And people often tend to choose lines of work consistent with their talents, education, aptitudes, preferences, and even values.

People’s personal traits, however, sometimes favor one line of work over another.  Physically fit, service oriented people oftentimes become firefighters, police officers, or even sanitation workers. Of course, the trait “brave” often further focuses one on the first two occupations over the third.

We all have a line of work, be it in education, business, communication, and the like.  People proficient in math may pursue a career in accounting, engineering, science, or teaching math.  People proficient in science might pursue a career in medicine or other health related fields.

But the bottom line is that God gives each of us talents, aptitudes, personalities, and preferences. These are consistent with some lines of work and not so much with others. And certainly, education or training will usually be necessary to provide the foundation of whatever secular line of work we may do.

No matter how gifted someone may be in teaching, science, or the law, for example, that person will never get very far without the relevant courses, degrees, experience, and certification.  If they hope to teach at any accredited school or institution of higher learning, the necessary credentials are required.

There is, however, a difference between one’s occupation, profession, and vocation.

A person’s occupation is what that person does for a living, for financial benefit.  Occupations pay the bills.  Professions are specialized occupations requiring special training.  Vocations, on the other hand, are what we do for personal and internal fulfillment.  Vocations ‘pay’ the soul and fulfill the heart.

The ideal, of course, is that one’s occupation or profession be one’s vocation as well, but that is not always possible due to many factors.  A person’s ultimate happiness is often tied to how closely his or her occupation approaches his or her vocation.

My personal experience is that people who find an occupation or profession closely aligned to their vocation tend to be more fulfilled, happy, and competent at that line of work. We have all dealt with nurses or doctors who are only in it for the money and not out of concern for patients.  Conversely, few of us can forget that teacher who, even teaching about rocks or viruses, bubbled with enthusiasm and passion about their subject.

Our Eternal Line

Just as with our secular line, we must discern, develop, actively pursue, and passionately engage in our eternal to experience the greatest fulfillment of our hopes and potential.  How far and in what direction that most important of lines will take us will largely depend on how much we care about and discern, develop, pursue, and embrace that eternal line for God.

If we ignore or discard our eternal line, we will never fulfill the sacred potential God wills for us.

If we see our eternal line as merely a job whose pay is not going to hell, then we will just go through the motions of devotion and piety, with sporadic and infrequent swipes at pretending to love and serve others.  We will likely never really develop whatever gifts or aptitudes we have in that line.  Our efforts will likely be lukewarm at best, with negative consequences (Revelation 3:16) to our eternal destiny.

If we see our eternal line as a profession requiring educating ourselves in scripture and our Faith, we will at least gain a deeper understanding of that for which we should stand.  We will therefore be able to grow in that Faith and practice.  Knowing what we are talking about and what false teachings we must avoid will also give us a better chance of convincing and education others to consider our words and eternal line.

Lastly, if we see our eternal line as a vocation, a deep calling requiring the whole of our souls, hearts, and minds, we will be more likely to immerse and embrace our eternal lines as our fulfilling way to make a difference in the lives, and eternity, of those God puts before us.

The Tools and Traits of Our Trade

In the “What’s My Line” game show, a panel tried to guess each guest contestant’s line of work by their mannerisms, how they appeared, and the “vibe” they gave allowing some sense of what they did for a living.  Stereotypes were certainly involved.  A short, thin man was probably not a professional wrestler.  Similarly a petite, gentle female was probably not a long haul truck driver.  Of course, we know that stereotypes are often false.

The panel’s task, then, was often to tease the responses from perceptions and preconceptions.  In a sense, the task was to assess how closely a given contestant represented possible lines of work based on the image they projected.  Their talents, experiences, personalities, outward appearances, and values became tools and traits of their trade.  Unexpected lines of work were often amusing deviations from expectations.

What is Your Eternal Line?

So now I return to the ultimate question proposed here.  What is your eternal line and how well do you represent that line?   Is your “vibe” consistent with that professed line or does it seem false?  Does it seem like your line makes a difference to you and your life and hopefully to those you encounter?  Is your eternal line all about you or about God and others?

Ultimately, only God and each of us can answer these questions.  Hopefully, as people professing to be seeking Christ, our eternal line leads to Christ.  Hopefully, that line also leads others to Christ.  Hopefully, when people ask themselves or ask us “What’s Your Line?” we will be truthfully be able to answer “The Line that leads to Christ.”  Hopefully, their question will be rhetorical, answered by our actions, works, and eternal line to Christ. Hopefully, our line will be more than just a spoken line, a flirtation or gimmicky pretense of holiness.  Most hopefully of all, our line, our “vibe” will truly lead to Christ, and we will be at the back of the line, content to stand behind all the souls we have brought closer to Our Lord, the only line we will ever need!