In modern usage, "lady" and "gentleman" are terms of respect, and to earn them, a person simply needs to act respectable. However, it was not always so. A couple of hundred years ago the word gentleman had a very specific meaning and was related to a person's occupation.

When social classes were very rigid and ranged from the titled nobility at the top to working peasants at the bottom, a person had to meet certain requirements to be considered a gentleman. The primary one related to what one did to earn a living—or rather what he did not do. Briefly put, a gentleman did not have to do manual labor.

A lawyer, who used his voice and wrote out documents, could be a gentleman. So could a factory owner or a wealthy merchant. Shopkeepers, farmers and craftsmen were not gentlemen. Equal rights for women did not yet exist, so to be a lady, a woman had to be the wife or daughter of a gentleman.

Our modern economy and advanced technology have made that old definition of a gentleman meaningless. The old definition of a lady has likewise changed. These terms are no longer tied to what one does or does not do for a living.

So what does this mean to you? When you choose a career, you won't let such outdated, old-fashioned ideas influence your decision, will you? But then again, do the newfangled, cutting-edge attitudes of today's society provide any better guide? What about advice from the oldest, but most accurate source there is? Does the Bible have anything to say about choosing a career? Are some jobs more appropriate for Christians than others?

Christian career choices?

Perhaps you'll be surprised to learn that God's Word actually does have something to say on the subject. Its guidance is extremely valuable and will leave you with plenty of choices to make.

First, let's consider what the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica. In 1 Thessalonians 4:11, he told them to do their own business and to work with their own hands. Then in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, he went so far as to say that if anyone would not work, that person should not eat! Does this mean that under its old definition, being a gentleman was a sin? Should a Christian shun careers in computer programming or marketing so that he can work with his hands as, say, an auto mechanic or a lumberjack?

No, of course not! What Paul was saying was that a person must earn his keep—not lazily depending on others to provide for him. The concern here is not on whether one works with his brain or with his brawn; it is whether he is willing to work at all. We must also not confuse Paul's directions as a command to earn a paycheck. A stay-at-home mom may not draw a salary, but she generally works very hard and certainly does her part or more in the family.

Practical points regarding work

The parable of the talents (found in Matthew 25:14-30) provides further understanding of Christian guidelines for earning a living. In it, a wealthy man gives three servants differing amounts of money before leaving on a long journey. While the master is gone, two of the servants engage in trade and are able to earn a 100 percent profit, but the third carefully hides the money so that none is missing when the time comes to settle accounts. The master is very pleased with the first two, but scolds the third, saying it would be better to at least have put the money in the bank to earn a little interest rather than to just hide it away.

While this parable conveys important spiritual lessons that we will not discuss right now, it also demonstrates some practical points concerning work. The first is that Christians are not restricted to professions of manual labor. The two good servants might be compared to entrepreneurs or stockbrokers. Christ Himself is represented by the master who makes a profit by investing in his servants. The one career choice that is definitely not acceptable is that of doing nothing with what God gives us.

God has given each of us different abilities and expects us to do the best we can with them. This principle is also found in Ecclesiastes 9:10, which tells us that whatever we choose to do, we should do with all our might!

You may have a talent for organization that could be used in a career in management. Good communications skills might be used in sales, teaching or a number of other professions. Abilities with mathematics and logic could bring success in engineering or information technology. On the other hand, good eye-hand coordination and physical strength might combine to make one a skilled stonemason or commercial driver. God does not necessarily value any of these occupations more highly than any others, but He does expect His followers to develop their talents and to use their abilities.

Choose something you like!

You could say that God tells us we have to work for a living, but does not tell us in which occupation we should work. If you are like most people, you probably have a range of talents that would allow you to choose from a number of occupations. Fortunately, the Bible provides another important principle to help us decide.

Ecclesiastes 2:24 and 5:18 say that among the best things in life are the ability to eat and drink and to enjoy our labor. In fact, Ecclesiastes 5:19 says that it is a gift of God to be able to rejoice in our labor. Career counselors sometimes paraphrase this idea when they say, "You'll spend an awful lot of time doing whatever job you choose—so make sure it's something you like!" So, having the talent to do the job is not the only reason to choose a career. Our choice should ideally also be work that we enjoy.

Money matters

How much you'll earn is always an important factor in choosing a career, but big bucks alone should not decide our choice. Ecclesiastes 4:6 says, "Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind." A modern way of saying this is that you're better off in a low-paying job that you like than you would be earning twice the pay but with enough stress to give you heart disease! Yet, there is another side of the money issue to consider.

A person needs to earn enough to take care of him or herself and his or her dependents. You might love to sit on a riverbank and fish, but you probably can't pay the bills and feed a family that way. Paul very strongly condemns anyone who does not provide for his family (1 Timothy 5:8). Thus we must strive to find a career we enjoy and one that provides enough money to meet our responsibilities.

As people committed to serving God, we must also remember that God's law applies to every aspect of our lives, including earning a living. It can be difficult to succeed in some jobs without breaking the Sabbath, and so it is probably best to avoid a career path that will lead to conflicts on this point. And, of course, if you find you have a talent for picking locks, you would do better to earn a living as a locksmith than as a burglar! No job that is morally questionable is even worth our consideration.

On the whole, we can see that the Bible gives some important guidelines for choosing a career: We must be willing to work—and to do it with our might! We need to develop and use the talents God gives us, while finding a way to rejoice in our work. We have to provide for our families, without becoming unbalanced in our focus on making money.

However, we don't find in the Scriptures a direct answer to, "What should I be when I grow up?" There are many places we can go for help with that question, though. Many useful books have been written on the topic. We can consult with career counselors. Various aptitude tests can give valuable insights as to what we can do. And, of course, it is always worthwhile to talk to our parents. Most careers require advanced education, so there is no harm in taking general education courses in college before deciding.

As you consider your many options, keep in mind the biblical principles governing work, so you can be happy and successful in whatever career you choose.