Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “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.” Let us get back to the questions we first asked and try to consolidate them into one question. What is our resolve in life and what are we supposed to be doing? Jeremiah 1:5 tells us, “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” God has had a plan for us long before we were thought of and his plan allows us the self-image, self-esteem, successes, and worthy life that we want and that God has graciously given us. It is and always has been up to us to follow God’s plan or to flex our muscle and think we have a better way. “Waking up feeling purposeless is incredibly frustrating. You look around and see your friends and coworkers living passionate, engaged, meaningful lives. They have deep relationships, rewarding jobs and a sense of direction that compels them to hop out of bed each morning with a spring in their step. You know that God has something good in store for you. You don’t believe he intends you to live a life of painful drudgery in which each day is a total drag. After all, the Bible is chocked full of passages about joy. While this certainly doesn’t mean that every single day is a parade and circus, it does mean that an overall sense of gladness should permeate your life.” (Ward, 2017) Mr. Ward goes on to suggest that you may not find your purpose because you are blatantly living in sin. You will know if this is a problem better than anyone else if you are honest with yourself. He also suggests that if you are not living within your purpose you could be wandering away from the God-given purpose. If you are not happy doing what you are doing it may be time for a change. You don’t have to jump out of the window at work, but you can start a side gig and experiment until you find your calling. When your gig or hobby job exceeds your regular job, it will be easy to transition. On this same note, Confucius said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life,” It is also a good idea and absolutely necessary to pray and ask for guidance in trying to find your purpose. Some times not knowing where you are isn’t being lost, it is just traveling roads you are not accustomed to. The important thing is to not give up, do not become complacent, and keep moving forward. God is on your side and he wants you to succeed. Ephesians 4:1-5 reminds us, “I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, …” If you haven’t found that calling “to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness”, you need to ask God for guidance and pay attention to your surroundings and watch for an answer and be willing to follow the answer God gives you. God wants you to be happy, pray and pay attention. As a “Man” we have to remember that our plans and ideas are never as good as what God gives us.
While discussing our purpose we need to consider the differences between our purpose, our goal, and what is our objective. “Goal is something which we strive to achieve. The purpose is something that influences the goal. The purpose is the reason for achieving the goal. The objective is the specific action that one tries to achieve as a short-term plan.” (Escobar, 2016) We want to become a “Godly Man” (goal) so we can be an example to our family and receive eternal life (purpose), so we must live a life without sin and the influences of the devil (objective). Sounds easy enough but we are men and somewhere along the way we will try to flex out muscle because we think we can handle it without help. We also need to ask another question. “What is the difference between a goal and a purpose? A goal is a specific objective we want to accomplish. We will know when we have achieved it, such as buying a home or saving a certain amount of money to retire. Goals are ‘hard,’ that they must be measured and require a specific competition date. He states others believe goals can be ‘softer’ – more qualitative, not just quantitative.” (Morley, 2014) “Purpose, on the other hand, answers life’s larger questions – not ‘what do I do today?’ but ‘Why do I exist?’ and ‘What is my function in life?’ They reflect our examination of life’s larger meaning. Our purpose is what God wants us to do long term. Once we know this purpose, we can set goals to advance us toward the answers we give to these questions.” (Morley, 2014) Mr. Morley writes that we have an eternal purpose and an Earthly purpose to achieve during the course of our life. John 18:36 reminds us that, “My kingdom is not of this world.” And then Mark 16:15-16 tells us, “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” “God’s eternal purpose for us is to enjoy Him forever. This is the most important part of our relationship with God. If God did not have as His purpose to give us eternal life then our faith would be futile. Our faith would not be enough to get us beyond the threshold of death. God’s universal earthly purpose for us is to glorify Him, and Jesus tells us to do that by seeking God’s righteousness…… His righteousness is His moral character. He is perfect to doing right, and the reason we exist is to emulate the perfect example of Christ’s life. In this way, we accomplish the first half of the chief end of man- to glorify God.” (Morley, 2014) It should be everyone’s goal to have eternal life in heaven with God after their time on earth. Each religion has its own idea as to what is required to achieve eternal life. Most Christians beliefs agree at a minimum that a person has to make a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ, repent all your sins, and be baptized. In John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It is reported that there are over 4200 different religions and each has its own rules for getting into heaven. Some make it easy to purchase your way into heaven, others do not recognize heaven, and some make it all but impossible unless you are in a select group. “There appear to be five major categories regarding how to get to heaven in the world’s religions. Most believe that hard work and wisdom will lead to ultimate fulfillment, whether that is unity with god (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Baha’i) or freedom and independence (Scientology, Jainism). Others, like Unitarianism and Wicca, teach the afterlife is whatever you want it to be, and salvation is a non-issue because the sin nature doesn’t exist. A few believe either the afterlife doesn’t exist or it’s too unknowable to consider. Derivatives of the worship of the Christian-Judeo God generally hold that faith in God and/or Jesus and the accomplishment of various deeds, including baptism or door-to-door evangelism, will ensure the worshiper will go to heaven. Only Christianity teaches that salvation is a free gift of God through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9), and no amount of work or effort is necessary or possible to get to heaven.” (Questions, n.d.) I believe I will stay with the Bible and continue the study of being a “Biblical Man.”