It is not just lifeguards that have a special assignment in life. You do too. It is your calling! First century Corinth was not twenty-first century America. Slaves labored for their masters. Life was hard. Pay was lousy. Freedom was possible . . . but don't count on it! Talk about a "dead-end" job.
If you have ever seemed "trapped" in less-than-stellar working arrangements, God has a word for you. In fact, it is an essential teaching that bridges twenty centuries and links us with that Corinthian slave.
Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.... Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity)....So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. 1 Corinthians 7:17, 20-21,24 ESV
Listen closely to what God says through the Apostle Paul. Those jobs we have (even the "dead end" ones we simply endure) are God's assignments. They are our calling. Whoa! That friends, is a game changer.
In the Institutes of Christian Religion, John Calvin writes:
"He has appointed duties for every man in his particular way of life. And that no one may thoughtlessly transgress his limits, he has named these various kinds of living "callings." Therefore each individual has his own kind of living assigned to him by the Lord as a sort of sentry post so that he may not heedlessly wander about throughout life .... It is enough if we know that the Lord's calling is in everything the beginning and foundation of well-doing."
Your daily duties, i.e. your work, is the "sentry post" God has assigned you. As Calvin notes, when we take our job as God's assignment, it is "the beginning and foundation of well-doing." Why? Because we are not just serving the "boss man," even if we happen to be the "boss man." Ultimately, we are serving God.
You've got an assignment from God. It is your job. What does it mean to work for Him today?