Kelly and I had an enlightening discussion last night about vocation. I have encouraged the kids to get a degree in something at which they can make a living. When I think of degrees that allow one to make a living I think mostly in terms of engineering and the hard sciences. I love being an engineer. In my arrogance, I grudgingly acknowledge that professional degrees in the medical, legal, and business fields can be fruitful, too, but mostly I have advocated for careers in engineering and the hard sciences. After our talk last night, I know I need to quit doing that. It came out in the discussion that the authors of the the most interesting books I have read in the last few years have degrees in things like Sociology (Rodney Stark), Philosophy (William Lane Craig and even William Dembski), History (Joseph Strayer and Cornelius Jaenen). They really had much more to do with changing the way I think than any technical book I have read. Books about history and people lend themselves to the spiritual much more than books about how to program computers or make things. Even the business books I have enjoyed most were more about biography and history than business practices. Wow. Kelly and I decided that while it is absolutely necessary to make a living, it is wrong to choose a vocation based only on financial returns. The key is to choose rightly. Choose to love what you study. Choose to study what you love. Choose to strive for excellence in learning and application.
Grandpa Lauro and Grandma Conchita are coming to Raleigh tomorrow to stay with us for a whole week!