--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To make the choice of career or…" description: "\"“To make the choice of career or profession on selfish grounds, without a true sense of calling, is “probably the greatest single sin any young person ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/os-guinness-6581_selfish_to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-professi_514311.jpg" --- # To make the choice of career or profession on selfish… ![“To make the choice of career or profession on selfish grounds, without a true sense of calling, is “probably the greatest single sin any young person can commit, for it is the deliberate withdrawal from allegiance to God of the greatest part of time and strength.” quote by Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/os-guinness-6581_selfish_to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-professi_514311.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/os-guinness-6581_selfish_to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-professi_514311.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/os-guinness-6581_selfish_to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-professi_514311.jpg) > ““To make the choice of career or profession on selfish grounds, without a true sense of calling, is “probably the greatest single sin any young person can commit, for it is the deliberate withdrawal from allegiance to God of the greatest part of time and strength.”” [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing a career for selfish reasons ignores a deeper purpose and betrays one's spiritual commitment. **In simple terms:** Selfish career choices betray purpose and faith. Key Takeaway Align work with calling and values. Themes purpose career spirituality ethics Mood reflective serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - job search - college major decision - career counseling - personal reflection Key Concepts calling allegiance selfishness Questions to Reflect On - What values truly guide your career choices? - How can you balance passion with responsibility? A Different Perspective May ignore practical constraints like financial necessity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allegiance God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allegiance-god-1459302/) [Profession Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession-selfish-4350909/) [Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish/) [Selfish Grounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-grounds-4350910/) [Single Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-sin-462895/) [Sinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinner/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“And so when thou art tempted to any sin, look not on it as a single sin, but as having all other sins in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurnall/and-so-when-thou-art-tempted-to-any-sin-look-not-on-it-as-a-single/) [William Gurnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurnall/) > [Writing is a demanding profession and a selfish one. And because it is selfish and demanding, because it is compulsive and exacting, I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/writing-is-a-demanding-profession-and-a-selfish-one-and-because-it-is/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [We think we have to prove our allegiance to God by being poor. Many years ago, my own psychic development teacher taught me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/echo-bodine/we-think-we-have-to-prove-our-allegiance-to-god-by-being-poor-many/) [Echo Bodine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/echo-bodine/) > [“No, God and the world, God and its goods are incompatible, because the world and its goods make a bid for our hearts, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/no-god-and-the-world-god-and-its-goods-are-incompatible-because-the/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Five fingers, pledge allegiance to my one God. Wed have been through hell, so heaven aint far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyga/five-fingers-pledge-allegiance-to-my-one-god-wed-have-been-through/) [Tyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyga/) > [The decision we must make now is whether we will give our allegiance to outmoded and unjust customs or to the ethical demands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-decision-we-must-make-now-is-whether-we-will-give-our-allegiance/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Single \|sin-gle\| (adjective) - Too fabulous to settle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-hale/single-sin-gle-adjective-too-fabulous-to-settle/) [Mandy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-hale/) > [“disciplines, if they are void of the love of God, cannot remove a single sin from our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-davis/disciplines-if-they-are-void-of-the-love-of-god-cannot-remove-a/) [Marshall Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-davis/) > [Adam was taken out of paradise while he was in it. He was taken out because of a single sin that he did. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayely-saldana/adam-was-taken-out-of-paradise-while-he-was-in-it-he-was-taken-out/) [Nayely Saldana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayely-saldana/) > [To have prevented one single sin is reward enough for the labors and efforts of a whole lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-have-prevented-one-single-sin-is-reward-enough-for-the-labors-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If the impure and the unjust, the drunkard and the licentious, are loathsome to us, what must be the infinite loathing of an infinitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/if-the-impure-and-the-unjust-the-drunkard-and-the-licentious-are/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [A love to Christ which is so cowardly and selfish that it is unwilling to proclaim by a public confession its faith in Him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/a-love-to-christ-which-is-so-cowardly-and-selfish-that-it-is/) [Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/) > [Curiously, the righteous Pharisees had little historical impact, save for a brief time in a remote corner of the Roman Empire. But Jesus' disciples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/curiously-the-righteous-pharisees-had-little-historical-impact-save/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [My prayer to the Lord every day, is this-I have been a great sinner. I do not deserve Heaven. Let me stay here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andres-segovia/my-prayer-to-the-lord-every-day-is-this-i-have-been-a-great-sinner-i/) [Andres Segovia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andres-segovia/) > [When the Lord Jesus Christ became my surety . . . He went to Calvary's cross, and all my guilt was charged against Him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-allen-ironside/when-the-lord-jesus-christ-became-my-surety-he-went-to-calvary-s/) [Henry Allen Ironside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-allen-ironside/) ## More by Os Guinness > [Too often we forget that the great men of faith reached the heights they did only by going through the depths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/too-often-we-forget-that-the-great-men-of-faith-reached-the-heights/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [There are lots of people depending on the government who are good, honest citizens who have worked all their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/there-are-lots-of-people-depending-on-the-government-who-are-good/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [American views today are weak, confused, and divided. On one side, many progressive liberals still think that we humans are essentially good and getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/american-views-today-are-weak-confused-and-divided-on-one-side-many/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [What is undeniable is that when comforts and convenience sap our energies and idealism, inactivity secretes sloth in to our minds like a poison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/what-is-undeniable-is-that-when-comforts-and-convenience-sap-our/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [Freedom is not the permission to do what you like. It's the power to do what you ought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/freedom-is-not-the-permission-to-do-what-you-like-it-s-the-power-to/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“It is realistic rather than cynical to observe that in a fallen world there are degrees of virtue in relation to what is right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/it-is-realistic-rather-than-cynical-to-observe-that-in-a-fallen-world/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [For the grand and inescapable tradition of western literary classics confronts us with fundamental choices over our understanding of words, reading and art, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/for-the-grand-and-inescapable-tradition-of-western-literary-classics/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“The story is told of Socrates walking through the market in Athens, with its groaning abundance of options, and saying to himself, "Who would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/the-story-is-told-of-socrates-walking-through-the-market-in-athens/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [By our uncritical pursuit of relevance we have actually courted irrelevance; by our breathless chase after relevance without a matching committment to faithfulness, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/by-our-uncritical-pursuit-of-relevance-we-have-actually-courted/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [Evangelicalism can only remain evangelical if it is passionately serious about truth and theology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/evangelicalism-can-only-remain-evangelical-if-it-is-passionately/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“Sometimes when I listen to people who say they have lost their faith, I am far less surprised than they expect. If their view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/sometimes-when-i-listen-to-people-who-say-they-have-lost-their-faith/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“Neither secular progress nor secular progressives have brought the West where they once promised. Nor can they.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/neither-secular-progress-nor-secular-progressives-have-brought-the/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [This is also why it is wrong to treat God as a grand employment agency, a celestial executive searcher to find perfect fits for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/this-is-also-why-it-is-wrong-to-treat-god-as-a-grand-employment/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [We human beings are never happier than when we are expressing the deepest gifts that are truly us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/we-human-beings-are-never-happier-than-when-we-are-expressing-the/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [Christ is the only way to God, but there are as many ways to Christ as there are people who come to Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/christ-is-the-only-way-to-god-but-there-are-as-many-ways-to-christ-as/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) [Explore all 98 Os Guinness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) ## More Selfish quotes > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) [Maureen Andeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-andeson/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [I don't try to be something I'm not, I don't try to pretend that I'm something I'm not, I don't try to present myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-capuano/i-don-t-try-to-be-something-i-m-not-i-don-t-try-to-pretend-that-i-m/) [Michael Capuano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-capuano/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [I don't surround myself with a lower quality of human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-don-t-surround-myself-with-a-lower-quality-of-human/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [Our thoughts are either focused on what's eternal, life-changing, and true, or lost in the details of our temporary, selfish, false beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/our-thoughts-are-either-focused-on-what-s-eternal-life-changing-and/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [It amazes me how selfish some people are and how rude people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-amazes-me-how-selfish-some-people-are-and-how-rude-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They say we all die alone, but I say we die together as one, with every selfish act, piece by piece, smack by smack...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-erlandson/they-say-we-all-die-alone-but-i-say-we-die-together-as-one-with-every/) [Eric Erlandson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-erlandson/) > [Selfish people make me sick to my stomach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/selfish-people-make-me-sick-to-my-stomach/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A love to Christ which is so cowardly and selfish that it is unwilling to proclaim by a public confession its faith in Him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/a-love-to-christ-which-is-so-cowardly-and-selfish-that-it-is/) [Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/) > [I'm not a selfish guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romelu-lukaku/i-m-not-a-selfish-guy/) [Romelu Lukaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romelu-lukaku/) > [There is no man at once so unselfish and selfish as a man in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/there-is-no-man-at-once-so-unselfish-and-selfish-as-a-man-in-love/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) > [I will no longer surround myself around selfish people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-no-longer-surround-myself-around-selfish-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 2,822 Selfish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To make the choice of career or profession on selfish grounds, without a true sense of calling, is “probably the greatest single sin any young person can commit, for it is the deliberate withdrawal from allegiance to God of the greatest part of time and strength.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Os Guinness" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-profession-on-selfish-grounds-without/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Selfish" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-profession-on-selfish-grounds-without/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/os-guinness-6581_selfish_to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-professi_514311.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/os-guinness-6581_selfish_to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-professi_514311.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/os-guinness-6581_selfish_to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-professi_514311.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To make the choice of career or profession on selfish grounds, without a true sense of calling, is “probably…” — Os Guinness", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Os Guinness", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“To make the choice of career...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-profession-on-selfish-grounds-without/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/to-make-the-choice-of-career-or-profession-on-selfish-grounds-without/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```