Episode 10: Should I Put My Artistic Pursuits on the Backburner‪?‬ King of the Middle

— Intro



— Chris reveals his current financial difficulties and grapples with the Biblical call to be the provider for his household / Are continuous closed doors to his old career and current job searches signs that God wants him to keep going as an artist? / How the immense pressure of school debt continues to impact Chris’s vocational calling



— The benefits of going back to school / What we learned from a financially inviable project that helped re-direct career focus / Chris still struggles with whether to quit pursuing art as a vocation



— Michael mentions a famous quote about insanity and repetition / The parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1–8)



— Michael’s vision as an artist when he graduated college / The importance of a healthy ego / The need for reliance on a team and prayer to accomplish an artistic vocation / Losing passion for art as a sign to move on from it



— Quitting seriously comes to mind when our choices cost us significantly 



— Augustine quote about trusting God and doing what you want to do / The Father will redirect you if you’re on the wrong track / Michael made a decision to be more responsible financially at cost to his art (but without sacrificing art entirely)



— The call to provide for one’s family: “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (Timothy 5:8 ESV)



— Chris mentions how some folks have it was easier when stepping into established family businesses / It’s hard finding work in certain fields like education, which may be due to certain political movements of the time



— Complication of artistic pursuits when married into Asian American families (as Michael and Chris both are) / Why Chris isn’t pursuing law work post-law school / Is it sin to refuse certain kinds of secular work? / Asking the Father to fail steps down wrong paths and being willing to truly hear what God is speaking to you regarding what he wants you to do



— One of our favorite pastors, Francis Chan, speaks often about following the Father’s call when He asks you to do hard things in your vocation / Chris’s near-future move to regroup and hear God’s call



— Chris’s moods and hope were often built on sand and subject to the ups and downs of career successes and failures 



— Michael’s experience trying to leave Los Angeles, prevailing state political movements add pressure to leave



— Be on guard against entitlement and unrealistic expectations / Count the costs of your career choices up front rather than after-the-fact / 



— God can provide amazing things (like a spouse) despite some of our vocational choices that may have made lives more difficult / Michael has more peace these days and doesn’t put as much pressure to succeed on himself



— Chris’s desire to find a wife was hindered for a long time by a misguided sense of the importance of success as an artist / God provided a wife and spoke to him clearly about it / When we obey the Father, amazing things happen



— Preview of a future episode that will deal with why we shouldn’t choose political sides but rather God’s side



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https://michaeljoelgreen.wordpress.com/