What is the meaning of life?
In Rick Warren's #1 bestseller, "The Purpose Driven Life" the author begins with this:
"It's not about you"
Right there, he had my attention, as just the opposite had been my favorite saying the preceding year, and my general attitude long before that! If it wasn't all about me, then what or who was it about? Warren went on to say...
"The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. 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."
Quite frankly, looking back on these opening remarks I'm surprised I finished the book. I grew up in the "me" generation, so this was different than anything I had ever heard. Sure, I had always been a Christian, but I never thought my life was to serve God and "His" purpose alone. I thought I was to serve my own/my family's purposes and goals--as long as they never conflicted with any of God's commandments.
Since reading that book, my definition of God has changed dramatically. I feel I know even less than I did then about God. For me, "He" is now "that mysterious Something" that I feel is there, but has no particular name. I agree that I am here to serve something far greater than myself, but I can only describe it as serving (the greater) "Good."
No matter what you call God: Allah, Jesus, Buddha, the Sun, Good or whatever...even if you don't believe in God at all, I believe we all serve something. Who among us are truly free of service to some master...Who of us really has the ever-evasive and perfect state of total liberty?
You may ask this age-old question a hundred different ways, but to know where you find meaning in your life you must honestly look at what you serve. Ask yourself the question that rings true to you...
Who is my God?
What/who do I worship?
What is the most important thing in my life?
No matter how you phrase the question...you can answer it by honestly looking at where you put your resources. You put your resources where your heart is. The meaning of a life can be answered by looking at where the time, energy and money is spent, and what you serve (through time, energy, or money) is the most important thing in your life.
You can serve mankind. You an serve your family. You can serve your God. You can serve your mind. You can serve your sexuality. You an serve your vanity. You can serve children. You can serve the dead. You can serve the earth. You can serve your home. You can serve a company. You can serve the Jones. You can serve your country. You can serve weapons manufacturers. You can serve media. You can serve the Government. You can serve the Constitution. You can serve the bank.
Those things that receive most of our resources is our primary master. There are some who serve just one master, but most of us serve many. Matthew 6:24 says, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Jean de la Bruyere says, "A slave has but one master; an ambitious man has as many masters as there are people who may be useful in bettering his position." Though these quotes seem to cancel each other out, I think they are both true. It would be as difficult to be ambitious and free of multiple masters as it would be to get "a camel through the eye of a needle."
In our free market society...combined with our American work ethic, who among us doesn't praise a healthy dose of ambition? Do we not look down on those who rent? Do we not praise home-ownership? What (really) is the difference between owning and renting, except that renters are actually more honest at their own lot in life. Granted, many renters didn't have the ability to choose for themselves through bad credit, poor health (and bad coverage) or low income. Yet fewer "homeowners" actually "own" our homes...the banks do. As Americans, we are understandably uncomfortable with our multi-master status, but sometimes the truth of our own serfdom is undeniable.
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