Meaningful Returns

I was recently with a bunch of attorneys at a fundraising event for JusticeMatters, a non-profit that “provides preventive and restorative direct legal services in humanitarian immigration law, family law, and other civil matters.” To be honest I’m still processing the evening, because on one hand it felt like my stomach was being ripped out to hear about the evil that is perpetrated all around us against those that are already on the mistreated fringes of our society. But on the other hand I was incredibly inspired by a group of people who have committed to using their vocation (the practice of law) to come to the aid of those tragically impacted by human trafficking, and to prevent that tragedy from happening to others.

The first part, the evil part, is something that I’ll never be fully able to grasp. I can’t even come close to fathoming the pain and horror that victims of human trafficking (and their families feel). But the second part, though also something I’ll never fully be able to grasp, is at least something I can start to put words to. And the words are these:

We’ve got to stop compartmentalizing our vocations.

I don’t know what it is you spend your day doing. And I definitely don’t know what you’re supposed to be spending your day doing. Maybe you practice law, maybe you’re a dental hygienist, maybe you work for a software company, maybe you stay at home and run a family, maybe you do marketing for a small business, maybe you teach 9th grade English, maybe you’re looking for employment. And maybe you feel a calling in your day job, maybe you don’t. I don’t know. But whatever the case may be, you will find more joy, and you will incite more positive, hopeful change, if you will do what those attorneys are doing.

If you stop compartmentalizing your vocation.

And maybe it all starts with a simple question: What is it that I can do well, and how can I do that thing well for the benefit of those who need it?