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Practicing Significance Glorifying God by fulfilling your own unique purposes through the never-ending action of acquiring, using, and sharing diverse resources. |
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Understanding Your Purposes
“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such time as this.” Mordecai
“Count the cost, consider the risks, and set out each day on a venture to multiply your gifts and opportunities and bring glory to God and add value to our world.” OS Guinness
“Men hurried hither and thither urged by forces they knew not; and the purpose of it all escaped them.” W. Somerset Maugham
“My life has a superb cast, but I can’t figure out the plot.” Unknown
“Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason. Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless.” Rick Warren
Introduction
Most of us spend our time and effort learning how to live yet we spend little time learning about and understanding why we are alive. We are so overwhelmed by just making it from day to day, that we seldom think deeply. In fact, many people have somehow acquired the assumption that life (especially their own) has no purpose. The following lesson will talk about life’s purposes, while other lessons will deal with fulfilling our purposes by setting goals and then making and executing a life plan.
The Importance of Purpose
This lesson is a bit difficult to write without a note of hypocrisy because I lived for more than fifty years without thinking too much about my own purposes. I was often told to set goals and have a plan to accomplish them, but found that I lived my life with very few goals and plans. Now I understand why I couldn’t set goals or make plans. Without knowing my purposes, how could I possibly set goals or plans? As an engineer, I knew that inventions and machines without purpose were useless curiosities. How could anybody set the specifications or design parts for a machine that had no purpose? Yet, because I was able to productively go from day to day leading a normal life, I never realized the importance of knowing my purposes.
The typical case of a man about to retire represents the life many of us lead or have lead. As retirement nears, it becomes painfully apparent “purpose” in life always had to do with a job, so after retirement there is no purpose. As you would expect this often causes many types of unhealthy mental reactions. In fact, a respected type of psychotherapy concludes that many people have mental heath problems solely because they have no identified purpose for living. These statements may be self-evident to some of you, but if you need convincing, read the books Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, and Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. They make a strong case that happiness and contentment are most likely to occur when we know our purposes, and are fully committed to fulfilling them. We will be happier and more fulfilled when we choose a definite path and leave the emptiness of perpetual options.
Knowing your purposes may be the lynch pin for living a significant life. Without knowing your purposes, you will likely be driven by emotions, expectations of your peer group, materialism, or nothing at all. Knowing your purposes allows you to have a clear foundation upon which to base decisions and allocate your scarce resources.
Biologic Purposes
Our biologic purposes can be summarized as follows: be born, grow to physical maturity, have and raise children, and die. If, as a species, we do not fulfill these biologic purposes, humankind will be extinct in about a hundred years. For the most part, the only one of these biologic purposes which we can purposely affect is having and raising children. Virtually all societies throughout time have valued and protected children. For most of us, successfully raising our children has been an important purpose in our lives. As a society it is important that all of our members value children, yet there are large segments of America who do not value this purpose so highly. Since the invention and distribution of birth control pills and the legalization of abortion, there has been a revolution in sexual activity and thoughts about having and raising children. Many Americans now believe that it is quite reasonable to not have children or if we have them, not be as dedicated to the rearing process as previous generations. Many others believe in women’s absolute right to an abortion after she gets pregnant. As a society we are paying the price for violating our biologic purposes.
Moral Considerations
If spiritual purposes are not considered as paramount, moral considerations are the usual guidelines to consider when determining a life purpose. Many have adopted some semblance of the “Golden Rule” as the basic moral measurement. In its positive form, as expressed by Jesus, this is expressed as, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In its negative form, it is expressed as “Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you.” Notice that there is a significant difference in the actions which result from which form is used as the moral compass. Other moral considerations might be: protect our physical environment, be of service to the underprivileged, be productive, or provide employment. To a large extent, moral purposes are based on agreement among certain members of society, and usually end up being determined by the personal preferences, feelings, and experiences of people in power. For some, this is a convenient situation since nobody can ever criticize your “morals” because there are no absolutes by which to judge. This self-centered purpose orientation has resulted in popular morality being summed up as, “I can do anything I want as long as it doesn’t directly hurt or impose on any one else.” Inevitably, however, a moral centered society will result in disagreement, chaos, and an amoral society. In fact, without a spiritual basis, the very idea of life having purpose is paradoxical. As the famous mathematician and atheist Bertrand Russell commented, “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.” This leads to what OS Guinness writes as, “Humanism’s all-decisive claim is that, since there is no God, there is no revealed meaning. Therefore, meaning isn’t disclosed or even discovered. It’s created. Human beings are both the source and standard of their own meaning, so it’s up to each of us to create our own meaning.”
Purposes of a Christian
Each religion sets forth its purposes for its followers. It is up to the followers to decide how closely and how enthusiastically they will follow these purposes. The following is a brief discussion of life’s purposes for Christians as I see them set forth in the Bible. It is a daunting task to try to elucidate these purposes, but it is even more difficult to follow them. It is my observation that most people don’t care to find and pursue their purposes. In fact, I confess that I have a very difficult time keeping my purposes in mind and pursuing them steadfastly.
Have you ever noticed that everything we humans make has a purpose? Things that happen by accident or by nature may be useful, but do not have a purpose. This principle extends to us also. If we were made for a purpose, then we have a purpose; if not, we may be useful, productive or even happily engaged in a life...but we don’t have a purpose. For that reason, the most critical verse in the Bible may very well be the very first verse, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The concept of God as creator is the foundation for understanding our purposes. If He did not make us as a species, and make us as individuals, all for His purposes, then we must only be cosmic chemical accidents. As with many other areas in the Bible we are faced with a stark choice, either we were made by God and have God-given purposes or we are accidents of nature and have only biological purposes. Though we are not given all the details, I believe that God created me and that He created you.
Purposes for us are further explained in many verses such as those which follow:
· John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God , and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
· Isaiah 43:7 “,everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
· John 17:4 [Jesus speaking to God] “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”
· Ephesians 1:11, 12 “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”
· Colossians 1:16, 17 “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
· Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
These verses, as would many others, lead us to the inescapable conclusion that everything came into being at God’s command, is subject to Him, and finds its purposes and meaning in glorifying Him. We were made by God and for God. Ironically, the purpose of my life is not my happiness, my well-being, my good health, or my sex-life. Admittedly this sounds quite odd in our world today. In fact, we have a hard time even understanding the concepts of God’s glory and how to give or bring Him glory. As briefly as possible, God’s glory is who He is. This was succinctly described in Exodus 4:14, “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM has sent me to you.””” Therefore, since it is His inherent nature, we cannot add to His glory, but we are instructed to recognize, honor, declare, praise, reflect, and live for His glory. Our purpose is to glorify God.
Our Individual Purposes
Some great news. God does care about you specifically and wants you to fulfill His purposes, in part, by showing you your purposes and helping you accomplish them. The Bible makes it clear that God cares about us individually, created and knows us individually, and accomplishes His purposes through each of us. We are so important to Him as individuals that He sacrificed His only son so that we can be saved as individuals, not as a group. By each of us fulfilling our unique purposes, we each bring God glory. The following are a small sample of verses that show God’s interest in us as individuals.
· Isaiah 48:17, 18 “…I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is the best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, you righteousness like the waves of the sea!”
· Matthew 25: 34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
· Ephesians 1:4,5 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will”
· Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
From the above verses, and others (including those in Appendix 1), the following statements concern some individual purposes. I am to:
· Optimize the use of what I am to accomplish God’s purposes. Although the grammar is worrisome in the preceding phrase, the following example will explain what is meant. Each of us is like a tool in God’s toolbox. Some of us are hammers, some are screwdrivers, some are specialty wrenches, and some are even multi-purpose tools. In the same way that a hammer is used when needed for hammer functions and kept inactive when a one-inch socket wrench is needed, we fulfill our purposes when our specific talents and capabilities are used to their full limits and kept inactive when others’ talents and capabilities are better used. The Bible makes an analogy for us to remember. God is like a master potter and we’re all lumps of clay. He knew specifically each person’s purpose and what each design should look like to achieve that purpose. God made us differently so we could serve Him in different ways.
· Optimize the use of what I am to have a godly family. God has chosen our families for each of us. He instructs us in the detailed matters of raising a family and also gives us many general guidelines. These include providing for our families, cherishing our mates, honoring our parents, and instructing and disciplining our children. Regardless of the wishful and fanciful desires of certain modernists, the Bible clearly portrays God as our Father. Two thousand years ago, virtually everyone would have understood this image of a father as powerful, as a provider, as a discipline provider, and as the undisputed head of the household. Unfortunately, in our society, we do not have that image. An ugly fact of our society was portrayed in a sermon to our church a few years ago. The preacher told us that he no longer tried to portray God as a father, since so many people’s image of a father was that of an abuser, or an alcoholic, or being absent, or being continually unemployed. One of our purposes is to restore strong family values with a strong father image. One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Proverbs 31. Whenever I read it, I am reminded of the many Godly women who have affected my life. I am fortunate that I was raised, and my children were raised, by Godly women. Here are a few verses from Proverbs 31: “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. She watches over the affairs of her household...her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her...give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise.” There are many, many more verses in the Bible about family relationships. God places such an importance on our families that He gives us a lot of instruction about fulfilling one of our purposes...making the most of who I am to have a godly family. An excellent book about this subject is The Joy of a Word Filled Family by Dr. John Barnett.
· Optimize the use of what I am within a local group of believers. Jesus refers to the church as his bride. It is his “other half” and is extremely precious to him. Referring back to a previous example, in order for the church to optimally work, all the tools not only have to be available, but have to be willing and available to be used. We withhold not only from God, but from our fellow Christians if we don’t allow ourselves to be used in a local congregation. We read in Romans 12:4-6, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts…” Further, it is within a local group of believers that we learn how to love, accept, and work with each other as a family. Several times Jesus refers to His believers as members of His family. One instance showed how intimate He was with His followers. His own mother and brothers wanted to talk to him. He pointed to His disciples and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Could there be any more intimate relationship with Jesus than being part of His family? Raising children has always been a challenge for me. With all its difficulties, how much worse it would have been had I given them free reign to behave as they had wanted? Yet, that’s how many of us want to behave as part of God’s family. We want the privileges, but none of the responsibilities. However, just like our physical family, our spiritual family has responsibilities for each member. Some good news. We not only have responsibilities as family members, we also have many privileges. These include: others will love us, others will encourage us, and others will teach us and accept us and serve us and honor us. They will forgive us and be devoted to us. Like us, the other church members won’t be perfect, but they can provide things for us that we need. If you are not an active member of a local group of believers, we urge you to become one. They need you and you need them.
· Optimize the use of what I am to meet needs of people. The Bible frequently mentions the importance of Christians meeting the needs of persons in society. Some of the groups that are specifically mentioned are: widows, orphans, poor persons, prisoners, workers, and those with physical impairments. There are many in God’s family who has difficulty with every day needs that we often overlook. We should actually look for opportunities to meet their needs. James said, in James 2:14-16 – “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is that?” James goes on to say in James 4:14 – “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” So meeting the needs of others aren’t just a suggestion, it’s a mandate so we can stay without sin and so glorify God.
· Optimize the use of what I am to bring the good news of Christianity to others. In some cases this will mean supporting or working with local or foreign mission projects. In other cases this will mean working to change societal norms to make it easier for others to understand and accept Christianity. These changes could take place in the political, educational, or social context. The book of Mathew ends with a very important commandment from Jesus which was given after His ascension. He told His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” This was a summary of all of the marching orders He had given them: “…go and make disciples of all nations.” This verse has been called the Great Commission, because it applies to all Christian disciples throughout all time. It is not optional. We are to go and make disciples of all nations. It is both a privilege and an awesome responsibility. One problem that long-term Christians have is that they forget how hopeless it is to be without Christ. No matter how contented or successful people appear to be, without Christ they are hopelessly lost and headed for eternal separation from God. In Acts 4:12, Peter spoke of Jesus and said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” There are people on this planet only you will be able to reach, because of where you live and how God has made you. If just one person will be in heaven because of you, your life will have made a difference for eternity.
· Optimize the use of what I am to gain my own salvation and have eternal life. God wants us to accept the free gift of eternal life by accepting and having faith in Jesus, and being obedient to him. God wants us to be with him eternally. We have the confidence of I John 3:17, “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” In a nutshell, doing the will of God means becoming like Jesus. American society continually blurs the lines between right and wrong and encourages us never to take a hard stance on anything. The Bible is just the opposite. In the Bible, we are continually challenged and forced to make choices. One of those choices is facing the certainty of living eternally with God, or being separated eternally from God. There will be no in between, and once death occurs for us we won’t get another chance to change our minds and our fates. The most important individual purpose we have is to gain our own salvation and spend eternity with God. If you have any questions about how to do that, please talk to your pastor or a trusted Christian friend, or contact us. Please, do something today. Don’t wait...it is too important.
Before leaving this subject, remember that the main point of fulfilling individual purposes is to fulfill the overall purpose of glorifying God. I Peter 4:11 says, “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
Learning to Reign
In The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard makes a very convincing case that one of our main purposes is acquiring the habits, skills, and attitudes that will help us as we reign in the future. We are told in II Timothy 2:12, “…if we endure, we will also reign with him…”, and in Revelation 5:10, “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
As Mr. Willard indicates, we will join Jesus in reigning “over the endlessly creative work of God.” “His plan is for us to develop, as apprentices to Jesus, to the point where we can take our place in the ongoing creativity of the universe.”
Studying to Find Our Individual Purposes
There are several methods and aids that are helpful in pinpointing our individual purposes. Appendix 2 further details these methods and aids, but some are:
· Reading books. Without a doubt, the best and only authoritative book for understanding purpose is the Bible since it is the only source in which God directly reveals His character, purposes, and will. In addition, the referenced books at the end of this lesson have also been helpful to me as study guides.
· Taking aptitude, personality, and spiritual gift exams. These will help you identify what type of “tool” you may be, and will help you avoid the painful steps of trying to accomplish purposes for which you have little aptitude or enthusiasm. These exams can be found or referenced in some of the books at the end of this lesson, or in many other books readily available at the library or local bookstore.
· Working with a mentor or a small group to identify the talents others see and (as importantly) don’t see in you. One mentor that has positively influenced many men in the Tulsa area is Dave Jewitt. He has developed a web site and program at www.YourOneDegree.com to help you find your purposes.
· As with every other important decision, seek advice from wise counselors including your spouse, adult children, fellow church members, your pastor, and even a Christian psychologist.
Statement of Purposes
After discovering your individual purposes, it might be helpful to list tem according to the six areas previously discussed. The, we would recommend that you summarize your findings in a short, simple, and comprehensive statement. With this statement in mind, it will be much easier to complete the next tasks of setting goals and making a life plan. Don’t worry about the statement not being comprehensive since more detail will follow in the lessons on goals and life plan. Also, don’t worry that your purposes may be revised at a later date since we should redefine our purposes as God directs. As you will find, every goal and every aspect of the life plan should be measured against your purposes to make sure they are consistent with a focused effort to accomplish your purposes. The following are some summary statements of purposes that might be used as examples:
· My purpose is to glorify God through working with my local church to support my local orphanage.
· My purpose is to glorify God by raising two children as Christians while working with the local food bank.
· My purpose is to glorify God by providing employment to others in a Christian environment.
· My purpose is glorifying God by stewarding all that is entrusted to me to meet spiritual, physical, and intellectual needs of others.
Conclusion
Knowing your purposes is key for living a significant life. Knowing your purposes allows you to have a clear foundation upon which to base decisions and allocate your scarce resources. After determining your purposes, the next steps are to set goals and then set out a life-plan.
Additional Resources
The following books were very important to me in studying the relationship of purposes and Christianity. They may be some of the most important books written for Christians in the last fifty years. The Purpose Driven Life was so important to me that I spent several days outlining the book. This outline is found with the other lessons on Practicing Significance.
The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren
The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard
Long Journey Home, by OS Guinness
The Call, by OS Guinness
Think Biblically, by John MacArthur
How Now Shall We Live, by Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey
Halftime, by Bob Buford
Created For His Glory, by Jim Berg
APPENDIX 1 – OTHER SELECTED SCRIPTURES ON PURPOSES AND GOALS
Jer. 29:11-13 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Eccl. 12:13-14 – Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. [written by Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived]
Luke 14: 28 – “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’”
Eph. 1:11 – In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.
Phil. 3:13, 14 - …But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Titus 3:8 - …, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
2 Peter 1:5, 6 – For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
Rev. 3:15-17 – “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are luke-warm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’”
APPENDIX 2 – LEARNING ABOUT YOURSELF
Most of us feel somewhat ineffective or even completely lost. On a very basic level, this happens because we do not know about ourselves. We look in the mirror every morning and see the same face, we think thoughts that only we know, we have dreams that seem to fade a little more each year. Yet, most of us do not do a comprehensive job of finding out who we are. It is very unlikely that you will be lucky enough to stumble into a significant life without first thoroughly understanding yourself.
This process is not quick, but it is doable. Books and tests for this are abundant at the bookstore, and there are many programs in place that can help do a comprehensive assessment. Here are some steps in the process:
· Evaluate your talents
· Determine your personality type
· Understand your psychological uniqueness
· Specify your likes and dislikes
· Assess your special spiritual gifts
· Determine your purposes and goals
Example questions:
· What is more important than my current job?
· What is my special ability? Do I enjoy doing that?
· What do I want written on my gravestone?
· Would I rather plan a project or execute a plan?
· Would I like feeding a homeless person or giving them money?
· Am I able to perceive what people really think?
An interesting warning comes from OS Guinness in The Call, “God normally calls us along the line of our giftedness, but the purpose of giftedness is stewardship and service, not selfishness. Giftedness does not stand alone in helping us discern our calling. It lines up in response to God’s call alongside other factors, such as family heritage, our own life opportunities, God’s guidance, and our unquestioning readiness to do what He shows.”