Definition of Service Vocation

When someone has the conviction and passion to carry out an activity professional it is said that he has a vocation. On the other hand, the idea of ​​service in a general sense refers to the action of serving, that is, maintaining a attitude from empathy towards others. Consequently, the concept of service vocation refers to the professional inclination aimed at satisfying the needs of others.

It is a concept applicable to any activity or job. Thus, a doctor, a receptionist, a hairdresser or a public official may consider that their professional work is guided by the vocation of service. This implies that your motivation is based on the satisfaction of its clients, on serving them kindly and honestly and, ultimately, on the exercise of their profession with professional and, at the same time, ethical criteria.

Solidarity aid

The concept of a vocation of service is not always related to paid work, but to those activities that are carried out altruistically and with a spirit of solidarity. Volunteers who collaborate with NGOs do so without receiving an economic reward in return and their main motivation is their own personal satisfaction and feeling useful to others. In other words, their time and energies are directed to a noble cause that is directly related to the concept of a vocation for service.

The vocation of service as an ethical approach

A professional has to fulfill some work obligations as efficiently as possible and in return receives a salary. Based on this general premise, there can be roughly two possible approaches:

1) the professional tries to fulfill his responsibility because this is the contract and because otherwise it would have negative consequences (for example, you would be fired) and

2) the professional tries to comply because he considers that it is his obligationmoral. In the latter case, his motivation goes beyond the salary he receives or some contractual clauses.

The approach Ethical service vocation consists of acting not because someone imposes it from outside (for example, a boss who gives an order) but because oneself has the moral conviction that forces him to act in a certain shape.

God's call

In the Christian world some people affirm that their religious vocation arose from the call of God. In this way, whoever receives God's message or signal feels that her life should be oriented in one direction: love for others, inspired by love for God. This religious motivation is also based on a vocation of service.

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