Cabbies and Fishermen

And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus 'knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. (Luke 5:5-11)

I had a very quiet shift as a taxi driver last night. The least profitable I have had so far. It reminded me of this story, and then I ran into it flicking through my Bible this morning. Something new stands out to me from it, which has not stood out before. I have always tended to focus on the great catch of fish, but Peter did not focus on this. His mind soon turned to his spiritual need, money did not hold his attention.

I am trying to decide whether to retain my taxi licence. I am about to study for ministry, and if all goes well I will never drive a taxi again. It is not something that can easily be done in conjunction with ministry. It has the same kind of emotional drain and like ministry is very time-consuming. If I need to earn money by some means in the future, taxi driving will not be ideal.

But I hesitate to part with the licence, after all the work I have done to get it. There is another part to this story. Though Jesus made them the most successful fisherman of the day; Peter, James and John quit their fishing job and served him full-time. They did go back to fishing later, but only once, and though this was not a sin, it was hardly worth keeping a fishing "licence" for three years in order to do so.

If I need to work as a taxi driver again I will spend the money and do the study and start from scratch. I will let my licence lapse. Don't tell me God's Word doesn't give us guidance.