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Perseverance, Calling, and the Path to Virtue

by Carey Johnson

Among these articles on Christian virtues applied within the secular university setting, it is easy to see the place of such classic virtues as prudence, justice, courage, and temperance, and of the higher virtues of faith, hope, and love. This essay is not about any of these, at least not directly. It is about perseverance. One might suspect that all too often perseverance is merely another word for stubbornness and that even at its best it may not be a virtue at all, but I do not think so. Rather, I believe that perseverance is not only vital in an academic setting, but that it is in fact the necessary path by which the higher virtues can be attained.

Most of us as academics find ourselves in a particular field of study because of love — love for our subject matter, love for the insights we find in it, and love for the mere process of inquiry and learning. At least that's the way it seemed to us at first. Drawn by the fascination of new insights, or perhaps stumbling into a subject that surprised us with the new worlds that opened up, we were hooked. I still remember the fascination and joy of first learning how a handful of postulates in quantum mechanics could explain the electronic states of atoms and molecules and therefore, in principle, all of chemistry. I still sense the joy of seeing how simple properties of symmetry produce clear distinctions in the physical behavior of molecules. Probably each one of us has had similar experiences in our own academic fields, which we have been drawn to by the joy of discovery and new insight and the satisfaction of understanding.

We discover also, however, that the delight we first encountered in our field of study does not last. As we labor on, trying to get an experiment to work, or writing a report demanded by a department head or graduate mentor, or revising a grant proposal that has been returned unfunded, or grading papers (and grading and grading...), the joy of our academic subject may seem far away. To be sure, that joy is not lost forever. It returns when we hit upon a new insight, or when we see the eyes of a student light up with unexpected excitement and enthusiasm for the subject we teach.

But what about those long stretches in between, when the academic field we love seems more like a desert? What will see us through those dry spells? It is perseverance that must carry us through the dark periods between the joyful high points of our work. More importantly, it is during these seemingly dry spells that God can build our character.

As Christian academics, we cherish the idea of calling. We believe that our love for an academic field of study does not arise solely out of self-interest, but was placed there by our Lord, the Creator of this marvelous universe, the Creator who also created our minds with the ability to apprehend, enjoy, and explore his creation. Furthermore, many of us believe that God has placed us in the university and in our academic field for his purposes, so that we can serve God and others in that setting. What becomes of this calling when the subject grows dull and repetitive, when the road to a degree seems interminable, when, rather than catching the spark of joy, our students respond to the subject we love with indifference, when a grant proposal is turned down again, and when nothing seems to come of our efforts? To what are we called when we are in the midst of the tedium?

The first and most fundamental answer to this question is the realization that as Christians in the academy, our academic career is not our highest calling. Our highest calling is to a life of discipleship and faithfulness to our Lord and service to others both in the church and in the communities (academic and otherwise) where we are placed. We hold in common with other Christians a calling to a discipleship that is developed over the long term. With this recognition, the virtue of perseverance can then begin to operate and bear fruit in our lives. The biblical writers are very clear that the path to discipleship lies through perseverance. Through the spiritual disciplines, through trials and perhaps suffering, and even through God's discipline, God can build perseverance in us. This perseverance is not an end in itself. It produces character and hope (Rom. 5:3) and is a foundation for the higher virtues of godliness and love, ultimately allowing us to be useful in service to God (2 Peter 1:6-8). This happens through God's work in us as he, with our cooperation and perseverance, builds godly qualities into our lives. Thus, perseverance is a step toward the greater goal of developing the character that God desires in us. Perseverance is the path to virtue, learned in endurance through dry spells, despite dark periods, and under trial and suffering.

For Christians and academics, the virtue of perseverance operates at several levels. First, we need to recognize that perseverance is required of all followers of Jesus. The rules for acquiring virtue are the same in the academy and outside. In this sense, we do very much live in the "real world." The path to virtue lies along the same course for us as for everyone else — through perseverance. We may wish that somehow the rules were different in the academy, that the joy of inquiry and discovery would be enough. But if our ultimate goal is to be conformed to God's son, Jesus Christ, perseverance is the prerequisite.

At another level, however, we want to know how to exercise the virtue of perseverance specifically as academics. Perseverance, of course, is an intrinsic part of the academic process itself. As all students learn early on, the joy of insight is not gained without considerable effort. This lesson is ingrained in us from early in our academic careers. In the courses that I teach in physical chemistry, I assign problem sets to students knowing that completing these problems is hard work and may take them many hours. I tell my students that I have learned by experience, as have many others, that the most important steps towards understanding and insight come through the hard work of grappling with such problems. The joys of insight and understanding await us like a spectacular vista that can be gained only after a strenuous, uphill mountain hike. One cannot simply "beam up" to the point of insight; perseverance toward the goal is the path along which insights and understanding are achieved.

One of my jobs is to direct graduate students in research projects. All graduate students soon learn that undertaking a research project is not a matter of following a simple recipe to obtain a degree. Research is an exploration of unknown territory. There are often long dry spells spent working out the conditions of an experiment, trying to get several pieces of temperamental equipment to work at once, trying to find results that are reproducible yet new and interesting. I am convinced that the most important ingredient in the successful completion of a graduate research project is not academic brilliance or a sterling academic record, but perseverance. Students may work for months before an experiment can be successfully carried out, whereupon the data that will ultimately be reported are often acquired in the space of a few days. Why not skip the months of hard work, wrong turns, blind alleys, and simply go directly to the experiments that work? Unfortunately, research projects just don't work that way. The path to academic achievement is perseverance.

As important as it may be, however, perseverance toward the goal of academic achievement is not the ultimate goal for us as followers of Jesus. In fact, perseverance can be misdirected toward the wrong goal, it can become mere stubbornness, or worse, it may even lead us away from the character God wants to develop in us. Persistence toward academic achievement may come at the expense of marriage and family. It may come at the expense of kindness and generosity toward colleagues or of justice and mercy toward those we supervise. I recall being told as a young professor by a senior colleague that I should invest at least eighty hours a week on my work. That certainly would require perseverance, but was it good advice? Would such an investment pay off? It probably would pay off in academic achievement, but at what cost to family and to the service to God? Choices like this one raise some of the most difficult issues that faces us as Christians when we embark on an academic career. Persistence misdirected is detrimental to integrity and will lead us away from, rather than toward, higher virtues. Refusal to follow that path may result in fewer academic achievements. It is therefore vital for us as Christians in the university to examine our choices prayerfully to make sure that perseverance is directed toward the goal to which God has called us. And then, again with perseverance, we must remain on that good path.

Perseverance must be harnessed to draw us into deeper virtues. We are called to persevere in a certain direction, toward a certain goal. The Bible calls us to persevere in the disciplines of Christian life: in discipleship, in doing good, in enduring difficult times, in prayer (Eph 6:18), and in reading Scripture and teaching (1 Tim. 4:16). To these all Christians are called. But God also calls us to specific pursuits in his service. Perseverance in our academic work must be built into the context of Christian calling, so that it can bear results in our lives and in God's kingdom. If God has called us into the academy, he has called us into forms of perseverance particular to that setting. To paraphrase Jer. 29, our Lord directs us to work with all our heart, seeking the good of the city — that is, our university setting — in which we have been placed. This is pleasing to him.

What we are called to, when we seek to do our work "as to the Lord" (Eph. 6:7), is an integration of two potentially opposing goals. One is to seek God's kingdom first with Jesus Christ as Lord and King in our lives. The other goal is to work with diligence and perseverance, offering our very best within professions and for institutions whose objectives are not necessarily centered on seeking God's kingdom first. As we live in this tension, integrating our service to God with our academic work, we can build on a foundation that will last into eternity. Academic achievement is temporary, and our academic efforts will eventually fade into insignificance unless God builds them into his purposes and transforms our academic work of teaching, research, committee meetings, grading, and grant writing, into something of value in the divine economy. This happens when, by God's grace, we live with integrity before students and colleagues. This happens when a student hears God's call to love him with our minds; when a community of Christian believers gathers in prayer for their campus; when we serve and love those around us, whether colleagues, students, or maintenance staff; and when we persevere in obedience to God even though we might be in the midst of a dry period in our academic work.

In my life, I have often struggled with the conflicting demands of an academic career, family life, and church life. I have struggled to find time for grant writing, reading the scientific literature, and developing research projects while also devoting time to teaching. Time spent with my family, time invested with friends, and time spent in prayer and in individual and corporate study of the Bible has meant that I do not invest as much time in my career and do not achieve as much academically as I might otherwise. Through professional dry periods, God has taught me to persevere, to seek fulfillment in knowing him, to trust him with my academic work and with the outcome of that academic work. He has called me, during periods when I was discouraged about my work, to work with all my heart at my job as service to him.

The academic world can be capricious with its rewards. It rewards fads, it rewards success, it rewards those who garner grants, recognition, and prestige. God's call draws us in another direction, to faithfulness whether or not these rewards are forthcoming. Thankfully, we can indeed find joy in our academic work, in understanding God's creation, in loving the life of the mind. But our reward is not ultimately academic success. Perseverance in our academic work as we persevere in serving God is a recognition that our work is done for our Father and our reward comes from him. In success or failure, in perseverance through dry periods and fruitful ones alike, may we serve and honor the Lord Jesus.

Carey Johnson is an associate professor of physical chemistry at the University of Kansas.

This essay is part of the "Pursuing Virtues" series at FollowingChrist.org.