God's Purpose For Me
Do you often ask yourself what you want out of life? What are your life goals? What career you want to pursue? I know I ask myself these questions all the time. Well, the first day of The Purpose Driven Life turns these questions on their head.
It's not about me!! The real question is, "What purpose does God have for me?"
What Purpose Does God Have For Me
Day 1 of The Purpose Driven Life showed me how self-centered I am. I constantly think about ME - my purpose, my life, my choices. But, the first Chapter of The Purpose Drive Life points out how unimportant these question are.
This first day was humbling for me. Here, I have always viewed myself as a devout Christian, but I have never really asked God what His purpose is for me. Here is what Warren says,
The purpose of life is far greater than your personal enjoyment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness.
Uh oh!! I spend a lot of time thinking about what will make me happy!!
More than just being uncomfortable about my self-focus, when thinking about my life choices, it really puts a lot of pressure to think that I need to accomplish God's purpose for my life. Now, instead of just going through The Purpose Driven Life as a spiritual journey, it has now become a mandate. If God has a PURPOSE for ME, then I need to learn what it is, and make sure that I dedicate my life to God's purpose for me.
What is my purpose in life?
The Purpose Driven Life promises that throughout its 40 day journey you will discover your life's purpose. But, I have to remember that it is not about me,
If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by His purpose and for His purpose.
Success versus Accomplishing Life's Purpose
Another important point made in Day 1 is that being a success in life is not the same as accomplishing life's purpose. I am an extremely driven person constantly striving to be a "success." I think that I put too much emphasis on being a success.
Point to Ponder
At the end of every chapter, Warren provides a point to ponder. Day One's point is,
If there were no God, and everything was the result of random chance, there would be no purpose to your life. It all starts with God.
I completely agree with this point. If atheists are correct in there being no God, then I don't think you can find any real purpose to life. If life is simply about your time on earth and then you die, life really is meaningless.
Scientists believe that as the universe expands, it will eventually kill all life. Therefore, survival of the human race is destined to fail. If God's promise of an everlasting kingdom with Him is not true, then does it really matter what we do with our lives?
Darwinian adherents will claim that we must act morally in order to survive. But, if the scientists are right, it is a certainty that humans will not survive. The universe will not survive. So, if the end of human civilization is likely, a natural instinct of survival is irrational. We are not going to survive any way.
Warren begins his book with a quote from one of the 20th Century's most well known atheists, Bertrand Russell. Russell said,
Unless you assume a God, the question of the purpose of life is meaningless.
I don't think that atheists actually believe that life has no purpose. Most create man made purposes. But if God does not exist, there is really no reason to live a certain way, to be moral, to care about others.
Well, Day 1 has given me a lot to think about. What do you think about the above? I would love to read your comments.
Related posts:
Yakezie Posts
- How Many Credit Cards Should You Own? [Aside] By Jason Price
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Card $250 Cash Bonus By PT
- Bible and Money Page Updated | My 10 Favorite Bible and Money Posts By Craig
- Testing Your Idea [Starting a Small Business] By Eric
- Save Your Money By Frugally Fixing 13 Things By (author unknown)
subscribe to the 
follow The Debt Hawk on 
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Good write-up. I’ve spent some time writting about this book as well. I think stepping through this book is an important activity. I found that it help(s) plant my feet and expand my reach.
Thanks for bringing this back to the top of my mind.
Dave
DoYouDaveRamsey´s last blog ..Homeless Man With A Plan
This is the very heart and soul of being. I have been a Christian all my life but lately have centered priorities in gaining back money lost these past few years. I scour the finance blogs. A lot fall back on wit; arrogance; reader, what would you do scenarios; all of which serve a purpose. None of these have hit it home with me personally more than today’s article you wrote. Thank you very much. The priority is reset with God’s purpose for me.
Well, I myself do not believe that you will find your life purpose by asking god. The answer is within you for you to discover, and nowhere else. If using a crutch helps a person to walk though, that is better than crawling.
===”Unless you assume a God, the question of the purpose of life is meaningless.”
Russel did not say that the purpose of life is meaningless without a belief in God. He said the ‘question’ is meaningless, implying your purpose is up to you. No question needed.
===”But if God does not exist, there is really no reason to live a certain way, to be moral, to care about others.”
It is certainly not true that belief in god results in morality. Witness all the crimes that have been done in the name of god over the ages, continuing even now between the Jews, Christians, and Muslims. This is a game I have no interest in playing.
===”But, if the scientists are right, it is a certainty that humans will not survive. The universe will not survive. So, if the end of human civilization is likely, a natural instinct of survival is irrational. We are not going to survive any way.”
How do you know? If there is one thing I have learned during my 60+years of life as a physicist and engineer; it is that science is more often wrong than right. It may be that we do not survive in our present form, but neither does the caterpillar. I choose to believe that no matter what happens to our physical environment, we will go on to become a butterfly.
I do believe everyone has an individual purpose for being here, and we also have purpose as families, groups, nations, etc. IE: You probably have more than one purpose for living.
I look forward to watching your journey. Even though I do not agree with some of the suppositions, I am sure you will learn a lot.
Some questions you should ask yourself:
What is my passion?
What makes me joyful?
Who are my loves?
What do I fear?
What do I want?
The answers are clues, just clues.
It is obvious from your comments that all are not living by the same world view. If one’s world view is that God is the Creator of this universe and that he and he alone is in charge, then it is impossible to find your purpose from within yourself…it must be found from God himself.
On the other hand, if one believes that there is no God, then there is no other place to look than within.
I am glad that you are discovering where you fit in the grand scheme of things. You are asking the right questions and looking in the right places.
I love that book. I still read it from time to time.