Parallels between the home & job search?

In the last and final installment of the Why I Labor series, we saw how in Genesis Chapter 1, God commands us to be fruitful, increase, fill, subdue, and rule. We are to cultivate and keep - or steward- his creation, which means laboring vigorously for the glory of God and good of others. One clear application of this Cultural Mandate is vocational stewardship, where through ‘our work, we employ useful skills to glorify God and love our neighbors’.

Yet, even with this clear command and purpose set forth for our lives, it can feel a bit abstract. As stewards of God’s vast resources, it’s easy to know our role in the Cultural Mandate but not apply that to every work we put our hands to.

Here’s a real-world situation where the Larsen family finds ourselves trying to faithfully live out this mandate..

Here's a look at what's up ahead:

• Vocational stewardship defined

• Real Estate Stewardship

• Cross-domain Stewardship

  • Career Coaching

  • Real Estate Investing

• When you feel stuck in your stewardship

Vocational stewardship defined

I’m just now going through Amy Sherman’s book Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good which delves deep into this idea. Her definition of vocational stewardship takes a measured approach to loving our neighbor by carefully assessing our talents and abilities:

As I go through that list and begin to take inventory, I can certainly affirm that God has abundantly blessed me with the knowledge, a platform, networks, influence, and skills that so many people do not have access to.

Part of that ‘platform’ if you will is real estate.

Real Estate Stewardship

The concept of stewardship is quite resonant in both the process of buying a home and finding a job (or new career). When we look for jobs, we should be mindful of how our work experience can be leveraged for the good of others. When we look for homes, we similarly are looking not just for a place to stay, but for a wise investment that will ultimately honor God with our finances and bless our family or future tenants.

This could play out in several different ways as we think creatively and prayerfully about directing our capital:

• Market research and due diligence: how can we use the time and resources God has given us to better analyze housing opportunities?

• Financing and structuring deals: how can we better leverage debt/borrowed capital (like government-back loans) to maintain current levels of giving?

• Renovation and value-add strategies: how can we add amenities, modernize outdated features, improve landscaping, etc to enhance livability for short or long-term rental properties?

• Portfolio and risk management: how can we diversify our portfolio and better manage risk (eg using legal entities to protect personal assets from liability)?

Many may argue that this mindset is purely driven by capitalism and greed- you buy low, sell high, and take advantage of market opportunities to accrue wealth.

Sure, that could be someone’s intent.

But, for the Christian who has integrated her faith and work and is actively seeking to partner with God in cultivating His created order, she will eschew materialism and self-indulgence. She will look to bless others at every opportunity, even in a process such as home-purchasing which can feel more inwardly focused.

Cross-domain Stewardship

When we take inventory of our blessings, especially in the West, we will begin to realize that they extend over many more areas than just what we consider to be our ‘expertise’. In her book, Amy directs the stewardship principles to

This was the realization I had with real estate.

Despite not being a focal area in the past, the Lord has blessed me with much to steward here, even though it may be nascent. Going back to Sherman’s definition, stewardship doesn’t come from experience alone:

Career Coaching

Within the field of career coaching, I can confidently say that I have 10+ years of experience navigating the job market. During four of those years I was a labor market data consultant to corporate HR stakeholders, so I feel like I have some degree of skill and influence when it comes to career strategy.

Real Estate Investing

Within real estate, I can confidently say I have maybe 1 year of experience navigating the housing market! I am privileged to be a homeowner and now recent landlord, however my focused energy on this domain has been negligible. Until now..

In the current season we’re in, I spend a lot of my margin thinking through real estate as we consider buying a home. Despite dedicating comparatively little time here historically, I recently realized there is a lot for me to steward here, including:

1. My relationships with parents and in-laws (my Mom is an agent and my in-laws own 6+ properties)

2. My network (family, friends, co-workers)

3. My experience (developing value-add renovations/additions to our Virginia home- although I wouldn’t say I’m a skilled DIY’er 🫣)

4. My knowledge (LinkedIn RE investors, BiggerPockets.com/podcast, rabbu.com, etc)

When you feel stuck in your stewardship

I won’t lie that in the past few weeks I’ve felt overwhelmed by the big financial decisions involved in real estate stewardship.

God gives us access to resources, knowledge, and information to help make decisions, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough..

As a career coach, I recognized this feeling from when I felt that I had stalled out vocationally, and was desperately looking for wisdom and guidance to better manage my career.

This is exactly why I began reformedwork.com to help those who feel stuck in their jobs, careers, and vocational trajectory. There’s plenty of information out there and advice people are giving you, but none of it seems to move the needle..

You shouldn’t be ashamed of this feeling, but trust that God will open that door to the right resource, the right person, the right opportunity, all in His perfect timing.

May the favor of the Lord our God be upon you, to establish the work of your hands,

Trent