What is the purpose of life? A quick internet search brought
up the following quotes:
- “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” –Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” –Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- “The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.” –Robert F. Kennedy
These are not necessarily bad ideals. Certainly better than
some like, “Grab all you can before you’re gone.” The Westminster Catechism
says that man’s purpose is “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” In Scripture
Pharaoh is told, “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you My
power, so that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16 ESV). I
think the same could be said for any of us.
Sometimes I find myself wondering, “What’s the point? Why
should I get out of bed, go to work, and sit at my desk for 8 hours? Am I
accomplishing anything of lasting value?” Some days those questions are easier
to answer than others. We all feel more purposeful if we’re doing something
productive. But when the work slows down, things don’t go well, or someone
loses a job, have we lost our purpose? This verse from Exodus says the answer
is “No!” Our purpose is not about what we can do, but what God is doing in us,
through us, and around us. Pharaoh’s main talent was telling Moses to mind his
own business. It didn’t really matter what Pharaoh did or didn’t do, because
God had much bigger plans in the works.
I haven’t read Rick
Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life,
but I know he gets one thing right—our purpose is about God, not us. As I’ve
shared before (http://mental3degree.blogspot.com/2013/05/purposeful-living.html),
God created us for relationship with Him, not because He needed us for some
particular task. If we’re here to enjoy God and to be enjoyed by God, perhaps
we can give ourselves a little grace when it comes to our life goals and list
of accomplishments. God lets us off the hook of trying to prove our worth to
Him and to one another. That’s not to say we shouldn’t apply ourselves to doing
a good job in whatever we pursue. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with
your might…” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
For me, knowing that my purpose is to glorify God by
enjoying Him forever means that I can be free to do some of the things that I
enjoy rather than trying to pursue a corporate career, impress the bosses, or
make a lot of money. My job has value to a certain segment of people and even
for the eternal Kingdom, but it is not my reason for living. God could do the
work through someone else or He could choose to end it, but my purpose and worth
is in my relationship with Him. He can move me to a new role within His Body
whenever He chooses. We tend to fall into the trap of thinking we have to
accomplish great things for the Kingdom, when all God is asking is that we be
faithful in the small things.
“One who is faithful
in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very
little is also dishonest in much” (Luke 16:10 ESV).
* I started this post last Friday, but circumstances made it
clear to me that this is just barely scratching the surface. Perhaps there will
be more to come.
