When I was in college I noticed something.

When I was dating someone

I could find lots of dates.

When I was not dating anyone but wanted too,

I couldn't find anyone.

Must give off a smell...

a warning to women...

this guy is desperate,

stay away,

run, do not walk,

repeat, run to the nearest exit.

Job hunting is kind of the same way.

Matthew wasn't looking for a new job

and found one;

often, when we look for a job,

we can't find one.

Most of us have been interviewed for jobs.

We've nervously endured those interviews

thinking about what NOT to do:

• Don't bite fingernails.
  
• Don't fidget.
  
• Don't interrupt.
  
• Don't burp.
  
• Don't scratch.
  
• Don't put down former employer.

We know we'd disqualify ourselves instantly

if we slipped up and did any of these "don'ts."

But the word on the street --

that is, on the cyber-street,

the information superhighway --

is that some applicants are unfamiliar with the concept of interview etiquette.

Personnel executives of major American corporations

have started swapping stories

of the most bizarre and unusual behavior by job seekers.

For example:

A balding candidate abruptly excused himself

and returned to the office a few minutes later,

wearing a hairpiece.

An applicant "wore a Walkman and said

she could listen to me and the music at the same time."

"Another stated that,

if he were hired,

he would demonstrate his loyalty by

having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm."

"Interrupted to phone his therapist for advice

on answering specific interview questions.

"When I asked him about his hobbies,

he stood up and started tap-dancing around my office."

"Said he wasn't interested

because the position paid too much."

Finally, one "asked who the lovely babe was,

pointing to the picture on my desk.

When I said it was my wife,

he asked if she was home now

and wanted my phone number.

I called security."

There's a lot of career-change craziness

in the wild, wild world of business,

isn't there?

Even in a booming economy,

with employees in high demand,

there are going to be some people unable to control their personal behavior

long enough to land a new job.

For everyone else,

there is help being offered by outfits that run clever commercials

with children deadpanning lines like,

"When I grow up I want to be in middle management."

Middle management?

Say, WHAT?

What kid in her right mind

would want a dead-end job like that?

More people these days are finding jobs on the Internet

than through the classifieds,

and many of these workers are shifting careers midstream,

turning a midlife crisis into a monstrously good move.

Job-hoppers are using outfits like

Hotjobs.com and Monster.com,

global online job networks

that use the Web to link companies and career-minded individuals.

For job seekers,

Monster.com promises to be a "lifelong career network,"

dangling such goodies as

resume management,

a personal job search agent,

a careers network,

chats and message boards,

free newsletters, and

expert advice on job seeking and career management.

For companies,

the job network boasts of

"cost-effective and efficient recruiting solutions,"

including real-time job postings, complete company profiles,

and resume screening, routing and searching

(www.monster.com, July 13, 1999).

If only Matthew could have jumped online with Monster.com.

In today's Scripture passage,

the poor guy is slumped in his cubicle

at the border tax collection office,

bored out of his mind in a dead-end job.

He's a petty functionary for the occupying power in his own country,

making him something of a pariah among his people.

On top of this, everyone assumes that he's a cheat,

since many tax collectors are known

to add a small service charge

to the taxpayers who line up

to pay to Caesar what is Caesar's

and to the tax man

what is the tax man's.

So Matthew is ripe for a career change.

But he's got no access to Hotjobs.com or Monster.com,

and no clear way to move up and out.

Then suddenly he encounters Jesus,

who entices the tax man with an unexpected invitation:

"Follow me."

To the jaw-dropping shock of the jaded taxpayers jostling in line,

Matthew leaps out of his cubicle

and follows Jesus out the front door.

He leaves his money on his desk and bolts!

Monster.com will have to wait --

there's no bigger career-changer than

MESSIAH.com!

Career-conscious Christians,

listen up!

Is Jesus calling you

to re-evaluate how we are spending our time,

our lives, our careers?

Is he challenging you to break down

and bust up the barrier

between office and vocation,

between what we do for a living and what we do to serve God?

Is he crying for us

to use our time, talents and treasures

for more than business building and wealth creation?

we may be at a Matthew Moment in our lives.

I know,

you're saying,

a what?

A "Matthew Moment?."

A time in which God is calling us

to something greater.

Greater than supplying services

and producing products.

Greater than punching clocks

and cashing checks.

Greater than working hard now

so that we can play hard later.

God is challenging us to be more

Christlike.

Christlike --

that's right.

You'll know you're ready for something more,

something more satisfying,

something more holy,

something more Christlike,

when you discover that your own plans for the future

are not nearly as exciting as God's.

People often ask Mike Slaughter,

pastor of a large church,

where he sees himself in five or 10 years.

Mike responds that if he's in charge of his own life,

he knows the answer to that question.

But if God's in charge of his life,

he has no idea how to answer that question.

As Christo-centric believers,

we look for God to be at the helm,

keeping us on a course that is clearly his way.

he trusted God completely,

all the way through the cross and the empty tomb.

through bread-breaking with sinners

and roller-coaster rides on stormy seas,

we'll grasp that God's career path for us

is far more thrilling and satisfying

than anything we could map on our own.

With the Lord charting the course,

we'll be able to

feed the hungry,

clothe the naked,

heal the sick,

and speak God's Word.

But hold on a second!

Does this mean that everyone has to become

a full-time religious leader,

a pastor

or paycheck-drawing church pro?

are now visiting Messiah.com

and hearing a call to ministry,

not everyone can --

or SHOULD --

follow Jesus as a preacher or teacher or religious professional.

It's much better

if Jesus has a disciple in medicine

or marketing

or mortgage servicing.

Much more constructive for the kingdom

if there is a Jesus person

in politics

or police work

or pest control.

Much more glorious for the Gospel

if there is a Christlike person

working behind a cash register

or on a construction site

or in a day-care center.

Jesus doesn't say to Matthew,

"Become a minister!"

No, he says,

"Follow me."

That following can happen

in many places

and in a multitude of ways,

and however it is done

it can spread God's will

and spur other people to find Christ in their lives.

Not that it's ever easy.
Christians in the public arena

find that there are many barriers

to being a follower of Christ in a secular society.

Ohio's Tony Hall was a nonbeliever

when he first came to Congress,

but he sensed a vacuum in his life

and began going to a different church every Sunday,

"hunting for God."

After a year of searching, he says,

"I finally came to the realization that

it had a lot to do with this person of Jesus

and I fell in love with it."

Then people would come over to his house for social occasions,

and ask him what was new.

"I believe in Jesus," he would tell them.

And then it would get real quiet.

"People would be kind of looking at the ceiling,"

he recalls.

"And my wife would be kicking me

underneath the table.

And later she'd say,

'What's the matter with you?

Are you nuts?

You're not going to have any friends'"

(Sally Quinn, "The G-Word and the A-List: In a Social Setting, There's One Subject Washington Avoids Religiously: God," The Washington Post, July 12, 1999, C1).

A visit to Monster.com can lead to new challenges,

and a visit to Messiah.com can create an even tougher path to follow.

amazing things can happen.

This could be your Matthew Moment --

that time in which God is calling you

to something greater.

Are you ready for a career change,

a job switch,

a new role as a

Christlike Mini-Me?

There are no tough interview questions to be answered,

only an affirmative response to the invitation,

"Follow me."