Both Callings

"There are Two Callings to be minded by All Christians. Every Christian hath a General Calling, Which is to Serve the Lord Jesus Christ and Save his own Soul in the Services of Religion that are incumbent on all the Children of men....But then, every Christian hath also a Personal Calling; or, a certain Particular Employment by which his Usefulness in his Neighbourhood is distinguished....

"A Christian, at his Two Callings, is a man in a Boat, Rowing for Heaven, the House which our Heavenly Father hath intended for us. If he mind but one of his Callings, be it which it will, he pulls the Oar but on one side of the Boat, and will make but a poor dispatch to the Shoar of Eternal Blessedness...."

--Cotton Mather, from "A Christian at His Calling" (1701)

This is an excellent quote posted on the Puritan Writing blog. Of course using one oar more than the other takes you off course. Rowing only with one oar takes you round in circles. No wonder we feel stressed if we give to much to our earthly calling.