Genesis chapter 1
Today we are walking in: The Pursuit Of Purpose
Job 33:17
That he may withdraw man from his purpose H6213, and hide pride from man.
purpose
Today we look to the word-PURPOSE- H6213 ’asah--to do, work, make, produce; to act, act with effect, effect
The Torah testifies...............
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The prophets proclaim..................
Isaiah 14:26
This is the purpose H6213 that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
The writings bear witness...........................
Ecclesiates 3:1
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose H6213 under the heaven:
The Pursuit Of Purpose
The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but life without a reason. It is dangerous to be alive and not know why you were given life. One of the most frustrating experiences is to have time but not know why.
From the beginning of man’s history as we know it, mankind has been grappling with the age-old questions: Why am I here? What is the reason for my existence? What is the meaning of my life? Is there a reason for the universe, the creation and man? These questions are universal. They lurk deep within the secret chambers of every human being on earth regardless of their race, color, ethnic heritage, socioeconomic status or nationality. Philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and others throughout the ages have attemp ted to explore these seemingly illusive questions. For the most part, their efforts have ended in more questions than answers.
The deepest craving of the human spirit is to find a sense of significance and relevance. The search for relevance in life is the ultimate pursuit of man. Conscious or unconscious, admitted or non admitted, this internal passion is what motivates and drives every human being, either directly or indirectly. It directs his decisions, controls his behavior and dictates his responses to his environment.
This need for significance is the cause of great tragedies. Many suicides and attemp ted suicides owe their manifestation to this comp elling need. Many mass murderers and serial killers confess the relationship of their antisocial behavior to their need to feel important or to experience a sense of self-worth.
This passion for relevance and a sense of significance makes one race or ethnic group elevate itself above another. It also gives birth to prejudice and causes the fabrication of erroneous perceptions that result in grave injustices and the conception of abominable dreams and inhuman behavior. It also gives birth to tyrants and dictators who easily sacrifice the sacredness of human life and dignity for a temporary sense of significance.
This desperate desire to feel important and relevant to one’s existence also causes the sacrifice of common sense, good judgment, moral standards and basic human values. Many individuals have sacrificed excellent reputations and years of character-building lifestyles for the sake of advancement to a desired position, or a place of recognition and fame in their society or workplace, so they could feel important and worthwhile.
This passion for a sense of significance and meaning in life is also the fuel for most capitalist and progressive economies. There are millions of individuals who sacrifice their families, friends and convictions in the attempt to gain a sense of significance. Accumulating status symbols and material possessions, they seek a position of importance and meaning.
In essence, this deep desire and drive for a sense of importance, significance and relevance is the cause and the motivator of all human behavior and conflict. This passion for significance knows no boundaries. Rich and poor are victims of its power. King and peasant suffer under its rule. Is this passion for a meaningful life a negative craving? Absolutely not!
This yearning for relevance and significance is evidence of an internal vacuum in the nature of mankind that needs to be filled. This age-old passion is the pursuit of purpose, a relentless reaching for a reason for the gift of life.
In Pursuit of Purpose was written as a result of my long pursuit and ultimate discovery of my purpose in life. I have come to realize the fundamental nature of this search for every man, woman, youth and child, and have, therefore, set forth some of the essential p rincip les, precepts and concepts that you must understand as you embark or continue on your journey of discovering your purpose. Remember, purpose is the only source of individual and corporate fulfillment. Join me on a journey that I know you will enjoy. It will make you ask yourself some deep, searching questions, it will challenge your resolve, and it will encourage you to check your definitions of life, success and effectiveness. Come, let us begin our pursuit of purpose.
Introduction
“Let me go. Please let me die,” sobbed the frail, old gentleman as the strong young swimmer struggled against the boisterous waves of the open ocean.
“Just a few more minutes, sir, and I will have you safely to shore,” replied the young man, gasping for every breath.
Finally they made it to the beach and both fell, desperately exhausted, onto the sand. “Why did you save me?” cried the angry seventy-six-year-old man. “Why didn’t you let me die? Your good deed is the curse of my existence.”
Startled by these words, the young man looked down at the older man who had nearly drowned. As he panted from the heroic effort of rescuing the victim from the violent waves, he shook his head, revealing the shock and the mystification that filled his mind.
Winston had known Mr. Cambridge for twenty years. He had always admired the hard-working businessman for his success. To him, Mr. Cambridge was a role model that embodied all he hoped to be some day. Having worked all his life to achieve the status of being the wealthiest man in the city, Mr. Cambridge owned millions of dollars worth of investments and an enviable mansion on the beachfront. He was the father of three well-educated children who all worked in his companies and the husband of a woman who loved him. Hundreds of friends, relatives and admirers looked to him for inspiration and guidance. Perplexed by the disparity between his observations of Mr. Cambridge’s life and the gentleman’s desire to die, Winston asked, “But, sir. Why do you want to die?” Little did Winston know that the answer to this question would change his life forever. (It may change yours as well.)
As tears flooded his aged eyes, the old man buried his face in his hands and lamented, “What was it all for? Is this all there is? What did I gain? I have everything and yet nothing. Everyone thinks I am a success, but I am a failure. I have given everything and received nothing. I made my parents happy and proud of me, and my wife has everything she could desire. My children want for nothing, and my reputation among my friends, associates and enemies is impressive. Still I am empty, depressed, frustrated and sad. My life has no meaning. Unlike my bank accounts, which are well filled, I am unfulfilled.
“Everyone knows what I am, but I still don’t know why I am. For years I have been so driven by the expectations of others that I have not discovered my personal reason for being. I do not wish to live with such emptiness. Today I decided it was better to be dead than to be alive and not know why.”
These words pierced the younger man’s soul. As he attempted to regain his composure, the old man took his hand, looked into his eyes with a soul-searching gaze and said, “Son, do not strive to be like me. Find out who you are and be yourself.”
As the medics carried the old man away and the sound of the ambulance faded in the distance, young Winston stood staring out to sea. He was not really aware of his surroundings, for the old man’s words had stirred him deeply. “Who am I? What does it mean to be myself?” echoed in his brain.
These questions—Who am I? Why am I here? Where did I come from? What was I born to do? What can I do? Where do I fit? Why am I different? What is my potential? Where am I going? Why did I come to this planet?—are universal questions that haunt every human being. Each of us must find the answers to these questions of purpose if we are going to enjoy a meaningful, effective, fulfilling life.
Purpose is the key to life. Without purpose, life has no meaning . There are millions today just like Mr. Cambridge. They are busy making a living, but they experience very little of life. If your goal in life is to be wealthy so you can retire, you have embarked on a depressing journey to nowhere. If your vision for life is measured by status, your upkeep will be your downfall. Vision is buried in purpose. Without knowledge of purpose, life becomes an endless string of activities with little or no significance. Like a rider on a rocking horse, life without purpose makes much motion but no progress.
A World Without Purpose
A lack of purpose and the impending tragedy that results from its absence is found not only in people but in all things. When elements of nature lose their purpose, chaos and destruction are the results. When nations, societies, communities, organizations, friendships, marriages, clubs, churches, countries or tribes lose their sense of purpose and significance, then confusion, frustration, discouragement, disillusionment and corporate suicide—whether gradual or instant—reign. Purpose is the master of motivation and the mother of commitment It is the source of enthusiasm and the womb of perseverance. Purpose gives birth to hope and instills the passion to act. It is the common denominator that gives every creature an element of distinction. This guiding sense of purpose is more than an orientation toward a goal. Rather, it is a deep awareness that a common vision encompasses all life and existence. Without this vision, we can only exist. We feel no passion for living, neither do we have a reason to wake up in the morning.
Thousands of years ago, a king known as the wisest man who ever lived stated, “Meaningless! Meaningless! ... Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). This was his conclusion after years of observing man’s life, activities, plans and achievements apart from a sense of personal and corporate purpose. These words and their sad echo have returned to haunt us nearly six thousand years later. We face a world that acts like a spaceship that has lost its flight plan.
Planet earth is like a mother whose children have lost all sense of direction and all value in life. Globally speaking, everything is in motion. Mergers and acquisitions, deregulations and changing agencies of control, information technologies and international competition all alter the shape and thrust of our economies and the way we do business. Changing demographics, realigned industry structures, new strategic alliances, innovative technologies, unaccustomed modes of working and the volatility of stock markets demand a fresh approach to commerce. Increasing competition, the shrinking of the world into one large global village, the move toward freer markets in former communist countries, and the proposed reality of the European Common Market alter the way we deal with the world and it deals with us. Many industrialized nations are being transformed into Third World states as numerous people migrate from undeveloped nations.
Long-established ideologies are evaporating in the fires of revolutionary changes. Institutions long held sacred are crumbling under the weight of social pressure. In almost every nation, the situation is the same. There is political confusion, ideological frustration, social unrest, economic uncertainty, moral bankruptcy, institutionalized corruption and disillusionment with religion. All inhabit an environment of fragile diplomacy.
The world has become an incubator of stress, depression, hopelessness and fear. It seems that the kingdoms and the governments of this world are bankrupt. They no longer offer innovative solutions for these ever-increasing problems. Industrialized nations are as fragile as Third World nations. The tremendous changes in national and international situations, and the economic, political, social and cultural transitions that have accomp anied these changes, now present a totally different global equation.
There is also a generation in every nation that seems to have lost its sense of purpose. They are out of touch with the values, morals and convictions that build strong families, secure communities, healthy societies and prosperous nations. Thus, the moral fabric of most societies is being stretched and tested to its outer limits. In every nation, the concern is the same. Many of the time- weathered institutions of the industrial states are being tried by challenges that threaten to transform tradition and demand creative and innovative responses.
The dynamic nature of the Third World and the developing countries, because of the infancy of their institutions and their industrial base, are even more hard- pressed to respond effectively to this changing global environment. Political, civic, economic and religious world leaders are perplexed as they see their social infrastructure cracking under the weight of these demands of the new, complex society. A strange sense of insecurity, confusion and aimlessness accompanies these modifications.
History shows that the value of life decreases and the quality of existence diminishes when a generation loses its sense of destiny and purpose. A quick glance at our current world exposes a sad picture that demands our attention. We preserve nature, for example, but kill babies. We build solid houses but cannot construct lasting homes. We are smarter but not wiser, bigger but not stronger. We know more but understand less, and we live longer but enjoy life less fully. We write more books but fail to take the time to read them. We go faster but get nowhere, conquer space but cannot conquer our habits, protect whales but abuse our children, go to the moon but wander far from home, and flirt with fantasy to avoid reality.
The United States of America, the greatest nation in recent history, has come to a crossroads because of a lack of national purpose. Warren Bonnie, distinguished professor of business administration at the University of Southern California, stated in his book On Becoming a Leader,
“America lost its edge because it lost its way. We forgot what we were here for. We talked about freedom and democracy, but we practiced license and anarchy ... As a nation cannot survive without public virtue, it can’t progress without a common vision. America hasn’t had a national sense of purpose since the 1960s, when, in an unprecedented show of common cause, millions of Americans vehemently opposed government policies.”
Professor Bonnie’s words echo an ancient saying written by King Solomon: “Where there is no revelation [vision], the people cast off restraint ...” (Proverbs 29:18) With the demise of communism in eastern Europe, the last source of national purpose for America has evaporated. The “red” threat of the bear and the cold war no longer provide the common cause for national commitment that every nation needs.
King Solomon’s words contain principles that every living thing should heed. Where there is no purpose, there is no self-control, no moral conviction and no ethical boundaries. This principle is increasingly evident in both our personal and corporate lives. America spends more money annually on drugs than on oil. The “Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave” has become the world’s number one addict.
Professor Bonnie further contends that “the moment we decided we could create our own reality, we had no use for dreams, forgetting that a dreamless sleep is death.” The famous television producer/writer Norman Lear, when commenting on the disillusionment in America said, “The societal disease of our time is short-term thinking.” In essence, we have lost our long-term vision and our sense of destiny. Where there is no purpose, no internal reason for living, no significance in life, the demand for discipline, commitment, self-control and respect for authority will gradually diminish until we, like Mr. Cambridge, will sit among our life-long accomplishments and cry with regret, “Is this all there is?”
In more than twenty-five years of working with people in businesses, universities, governments, churches, schools, marriages and families, I have met countless individuals who have achieved an incredible degree of success but have found themselves struggling with an inner hunger that revealed a deep need for p ersonal fulfillment and a yearning for individual significance. This feeling of emptiness and internal failure even after a significant measure of material and social success is a direct result of the failure to discover purpose in life and a reason for being born. Until this direction is discovered, life remains an experiment that is based on assump tions and hypotheses.
You must realize that your fulfillme nt in life is dependent on your becoming and doing what you were born to be and do. Anything less makes life your enemy and death your friend. It is essential, vital, crucial and necessary that you understand this fundamental principle of purpose and pursue it with all your heart. For without purpose, life has no heart. Remember, those who don’t know where they are going will p robably end up someplace else.
Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 1 Corinthians 9:26
Proverbs 29
He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
4 The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
5 A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
6 In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.
7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.
8 Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.
9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.
10 The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.
11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
13 The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the Most High lighteneth both their eyes.
14 The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
16 When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.
17 Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
19 A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.
20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.
22 An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
24 Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.
25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Most High shall be safe.
26 Many seek the ruler's favour; but every man's judgment cometh from the Most High.
27 An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
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