It’s a common question, part of a casual getting-to-know-you exchange: “So, what do you do?” My pat answer is to say that I manage grant projects and teach Government. Yet, is that really all that I do? It’s what I do Monday-Friday during work hours, but outside of that timeframe, I have gobs of other responsibilities and activities.

Ask me that question at 6:45am M-F, and I might say that what I do is get kids out the door on time for school (hopefully with homework completed and wearing matching shoes). Ask at 6:45pm, and depending on the day, I might say that I’m a cook or taxi driver. A couple of hours later, I might answer that I’m a grad student. Ask on a weekend, and I might tell you that I’m an amateur gardener or that I help out around the church.

I’m reading a book right now (in my “free” time, LOL) called Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas, and one of the things that drew me to the book was the way the title addresses the “What do you do?” question, but more than that, it points to the purpose behind what we do. Dietrich Bonhoeffer seemed to have a clear grasp of his purpose in life, and it was his unwillingness to waiver from that purpose that compelled him to stand against the Nazi regime and, ultimately, lose his life.

The Bible says in Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (ESV). It doesn’t matter how well I write grants, or what my student evaluations say of my teaching, or whether I cook gourmet meals for my kids and become Mom of the Year, or even how many academic credentials I earn … if I lose sight of my purpose in Christ, none of my plans or achievements matter much at all.

Instead, I hope that I can look back in the final days and hours of my life and feel confident, like Bonhoeffer seemed to, that I pursued God and tried to walk in his will. There can be no higher purpose. So, what about you … what do you do?