Purpose
By: Karen Lao & Ian Reid
I can’t tell you how many horribly wasted
lives I have seen over the years. I
started to make a list of people that I have known whose lives were a disaster;
and stopped counting when I had reached two-hundred. Mentally, I started to think about as many of
these people as I could remember; I wanted to see if there was anything in
common with these people? Was there a
pattern?
My study of these people needed to have
categories or compartments, because I needed to restrict the investigation; if
not, then there would be no concentration of data. I asked myself, were their wasted lives caused by themselves, or by
others? Where the causes physical,
emotional, or spiritual? Were there
solutions? Was it even too late to change?
And what role did religion have to play in the process?
The secondary causes of a useless life were many, and I shall
discuss some of the main ones; however, the real
cause was spiritual; they all lacked, Purpose.
The theme of my writing will be; lack
of purpose.
For many of these people, having the wrong
purpose started early in life. They were
frequently from competitive families, where public success was the definition
of purpose. This success could take many
forms; however, at its core, was the firm idea, that purpose and success were
the same word; and that both success and purpose were accomplished by how
people see the individual.
This striving for purpose through success
and acceptance, starts early in life for many, in some cultures, even before
birth. There are the cultures that
prefer the birth of a male over a female.
In some of these cultures, this wish can become fanatic, bordering on
hatred of girls. This is the idea that a
baby boy will continue the family name; he will support the family in their old
age; and he won’t leave them when he gets married. For some their wish to have a boy is simply a
traditional preference for a male. Even
before birth the baby boy has a purpose.
He will carry on the family name; bring home a wife, who might have to
take on a servant role; and he will look after the old folks. His purpose is for others; and the honour
that arrives when he does these things, brings supposed purpose to his life.
Once in elementary school, his purpose is to
out-perform the other children; thereby, bringing honour to his family. After all, high grades make mum and dad real
proud. With this, purpose is achieved
through competition. At this age,
purpose is also seen through aggressive competition in sports. Theoretically, the point is to teach the
child to cooperate with others, teamwork, sharing; and talking loss,
graciously. Being out in the natural
world to get exercise, is an added bonus.
The reality, of course is much different than the theory. His real
purpose is to win, and to bring honour to his family and friends. In this case, purpose is success, success is
winning, and success is everything.
Success is seen is being better
than the next person.
Note: throughout this discussion, the
reader is requested to ask himself, is this a real purpose? Will it last?
At this stage, the child may believe that
outward appearance is an indicator of success.
Brand-names are a huge part of this period. A child’s objective, or purpose, seems to be
to fit-in with the other kids. He needs
shirts, pants and baseball caps that have designer labels. These labels say – My parents are rich, educated and successful. They love me so much that they make me wear
expensive clothes. The purpose of these designer
clothes is to not only fit-in with the other successful kids; but to be better looking
than the poor kids. The kids are
carbon-copies of their parents’ status concerns. Defining your purpose by what you wear is
like watching a donkey chasing a carrot on a stick – he never catches it. As brand-name styles change from year to
year, so does your purpose.
Throughout high school the purpose can
also be to do things that make you cool. Cool to a teenager, usually means rebellion
against authority; authority being parents, teachers; in fact all adults. The purpose is to be like the other kids
while being different form adults.
Secondarily school is also the period
where purpose is defined as fierce competition for university admission. To get into university is not enough; it has
to the best university, and they have
to get into the best program.
By the above
definition, a person with purpose is
somebody who is outwardly successful.
He/she will be educated; more than educated, he will be educated in a
fine Ivy League university, in a
profession that will guarantee respect from everybody.
Once graduated from university, the
purpose is to establish a career and work-up to the top. Along with this goes benefits, houses, cars
and vacations, much, if not all these things, are to make the world respect
your success. The graduates’ purpose
will also be to gain acceptance and respect for himself and his family, as well
as acquiring material possessions. His
purpose will also be to uphold the family’s status in the community.
As his career takes off, marriage is contemplated,
not just by the individual, but by the whole family. Mom and dad naturally; but also, in some
cultures, grandparents and other extended relatives. In old literature the couple marries for
love; the reality is, that a marriage to a particular
person is encouraged because then the person will marry rich; marry a professional, and/or marry one of our people.
The purpose is to see that the boy or
girl, marry an “appropriate” person – same class, same education, same
background. Their purpose is clear: to
move all obstacles to get the best deal. This is a full-time job for some families;
that can start from even before the birth of either child. The cycle starts again when the couple has
kids, and the kids need to win at sports, do well in school…the list goes on.
Around middle age, or sooner; the
realization arrives that all of these purposes or goals are…sadly, meaningless. At this point, emptiness creeps into the
person’s life, and then lack of real purpose hits them badly. Why?
Their purpose in life was all about
chasing after something physical – frequently an object. The problem here is that once the person gets
the object, he immediately wants a better object. You get a car; and soon after that you want a
better more expensive one. The same
applies to a house; as humans, we are never satisfied. We always want more; and the world is always
ready to sell us more. Over purpose is
to be part of a consumer-driven society.
The problem is that once we have all of the toys, gadgets and things
that we thought would make us happy; we are still empty. If your purpose it to collect or have
objects; you’re going to fail.
Education can be seen the same way. If your purpose is to be highly educated, then
you’re going to be disappointed. One day
you’ll graduate, and have that education, but you’ll still know close to
nothing, in comparison with the universe’s knowledge. Education should be seen as a tool towards
doing something good with your life; not as a purpose in itself.
Education can have the purpose of boosting
the person’s self-esteem; the person feels better about himself and believes that
there are others below him. This
thinking will fail because there are also others with much more education than
he has. Education, in itself, is
meaningless; it’s all relative to where you are, and what situation you’re
in. The professor of physics is useless
in surviving on an isolated mountain top; whereas, the 10 year-old mountain boy
can.
If marriage is your ultimate purpose; that
too will disappoint you. One day the
kids will leave home and start their own families, and then you will be by
yourself again.
Careers, as a purpose, will leave you
flat. When the president of Back “X” was
in charge – he had power. People called
him “Sir,” and said “yes sir” to everything he said. One day after his retirement, who remembers
him?
Okay, so I’ve discussed what purpose
isn’t; so what is it then? Purpose
starts with God; we are to live for his
purpose. What is God’s purpose?
God created a universe, life – in fact
everything. He wants us to believe in
Him and to love Him. Our purpose is to
love God. Once you love God then things
happen, his love and energy flow through us.
We are the transformers that channel
God’s endless power into the lives of other people. To love God is to have a destiny. We were created to receive and reflect God’s
love.
Matthew 25:35 is a good illustration of
our earthly purpose. It says “For I was hungry and you gave me
food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed
me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in
prison and you come to me.” The I in this passage is Jesus. The good people ask “Lord, when did we see you
hungry, and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and
welcome you; or naked and gave you clothes.
And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you (Matthew 25:37).
Jesus answers them, “Truly I say to you, as
you did it for the least of my brothers, you did it to me (Matthew 25:40). Jesus considers these suffering people as His
bothers. Our purpose is to help those
that are suffering.
Our purpose is to be Jesus’ representative
on earth. The non-Christian world is
watching us, they want to see us fail, to make us look like hypocrites. Through prayers, and obedient living, we can
be good examples of Jesus’ love. The
result will be that over-time, the non-believer will start to respect us, and
then; believe. Our purpose is to be good
example of Christ’s love, others will believe.
Our purpose is to show the world that
materialism won’t bring happiness. We
need to show the non-believer that peace with God happens, in part, through
living a simple life; one that is uncomplicated by wealth and possessions. A simple life leads us back to the natural
world of God. A walk down a country
lane, a nap in a hay field, or an afternoon in the park, are all good steps
toward bringing ourselves and others back into equilibrium with God’s
universe. Gold, diamonds, cars and
big-screen-T.V.s won’t do this. Our
purpose is to live a clean simple life.
God gave us each a unique gift. We have purpose, when we use these gifts to
honour God. If you’re good on the
violin, then tell others that it’s a gift from God. Thank him for the gift, and share this gift
with others; and most of all, give God the honour for your gift.
Jesus was saying that when we help the
least of all people; we are helping him.
This passage is 100% clear. We must feed the poor. They are in the third world, and they are in
our own town. We need to give water to
the poor. The drinking water in much of
the third world is dirty and causes disease; we need to provide these poor
people with clean drinking – water.
Our purpose must be to assist strangers. In our towns and cities we see these people
everywhere. It could be a person sitting
by themselves in a mall; it could be a person on a bus, a train, or anywhere. The person may be recently widowed; he could
be a recent immigrant, or possibly a student away from his family. The stranger could be a businessman whose in
a strange-new city, and afraid. You
won’t have to look long to find a person that is lonely; they’re everywhere. Is our duty to give them assistance.
We live in a world with a lot of troubled
people that need help, but please be careful.
When you help to a total stranger you must take someone with you. Your help can be as simple as a cup of
coffee.
In regards to the sick, there are
hospitals and old folks homes everywhere.
You can join a volunteer organization that wants to care for these
people. A person in hospital or an old-folks
home frequently feels lonely, and any company you can provide them is a gift
that you are giving to God. You don’t
have to entertain them; just sit with them.
You can read to them, listen, hug, talk over the latest newspaper; or
better yet talk about Jesus’ love for them.
Prisoners are some of the loneliest people
in the world. They’ve done something
wrong, and they are paying for it.
Remember, we’ve all done something wrong, and usually get away with
it. Prisoners are loved by Jesus very
much; so much in fact that he decided that it was important enough to include
them in his list of people to love. If
visiting someone in prison seems too much for you; okay, then you can write to
them, phone them, send them a package; or even e-mail them. Remember, we’re all sinners that need each
other.
The Bible makes things perfectly clear –
we are responsible for these people; they are
Jesus’ brothers and sisters.
Matthew 5:8 Jesus says to “Heal the
sick…” The sick take many forms. They can be someone that has lost his job,
needs a resume, has no friends or needs money.
He can be a kid that is picked on at school, failed college, has drug
problems, or has just broken up with their girlfriend or boyfriend. Sickness can be sadness, confusion,
loneliness, anger, or jealousy. Our
purpose is to heal them. The start of
this is simply to let them know that they are loved, and then to get them into
a church. Prayer is the most important
part of this process.
Matthew
Further, our purpose can be to financially
support a Bible group, it could be taking somebody to church, a youth group, or
even a Christian “coffee-house.” It can
also be simply sending a card that says that Jesus loves you, and that I’m
thinking about you.
In Romans 11:6, the writer Paul tells us
that God has given us precious gifts and that we need to use these gifts to
honour him. These gifts could be in
charity, teaching, forgiving, writing, praying, or even in just waiting. To God, the size of the gift, or the skill of
the giver is not important; each person is to give to the best of his
abilities. Our purpose is to use those
“gifts” from God to better the lives of others.
As Christians, we are in a race, and the
prize is the “Crown of Life,” that Paul talks about. Our purpose is to compete with ourselves to
become better and more Christ-like each day.
At the start of this race, is
the sinful life that we all have. The
end of the race is heaven, where we receive the “Crown of Life.” The race itself is the battle that we fight
with evil each day on the path to heaven.
The hurdles and obstacles that we must pass are temptations,
difficulties, and setbacks; our purpose is to reach the end, in a way that
honours Jesus.
In conclusion, our purpose is to get to
heaven. This is done by believing in
Jesus. Once we believe in him, then our
purpose is to live a life that makes Jesus proud. By doing this we are setting a good example
for others and showing them the way to heaven.
Once our faith in Jesus has increased, and we are aware of our gifts
from God; then the next step is to spread Jesus love to the world. To spread Jesus’ love we need to help, heal,
and love everyone. There is no person
that doesn’t need or deserve our love; and no person that is too lost to help.
Our purpose is to love God, Jesus, and the
Holy Spirit, and to spread this perfect love to a lonely world that needs Jesus
Christ the son of God.
Our wish is that God will bless you.