The Purpose of Life

The other day in the car, my husband and I were listening to a sermon about 'Marriage by Design' that a friend passed on to us. It is really cool! But one phrase stuck with me that I quickly jotted down to share. The speaker was talking about some of the worldly views of the purpose of life. One biggie is security! And he talked about how, young women, seduced into marrying for security, often marry men that God did not intend for them to marry. They marry young men who are not prepared to be a spiritual leader for the home...their vision clouded by the opportunity for financial security.

I have been writing about how tightly we cling to our 'stuff', fearful of letting it go - afraid that we may not have the opportunity to obtain more stuff. We let others go without because it is OUR stuff. We hoard! It makes us feel secure. Here is what the speaker said:

"We are taught to get all we can,
Can all we get,
And sit on the can!"

Isn't that a great way to put it? Catchy phrase, isn't it. Is that really what we are being taught? I look all around me. I think we are. But there is a fringe of 'revolutionaries' struggling to teach a different message. Before seeing the word revolutionary, you start picturing a huge uprising, look at the definition of revolutionary. Merriam-Webster defines revolutionary as 'constituting or bringing about a major or fundamental change'. I believe our views need a change...a major and fundamental change!

These people are struggling to get people to see the purpose in life the way Christ taught it. Christ taught that we are to serve others. He taught that we are to meet the needs of others before our own. For our obedience, God will meet our needs and grant the desires of our heart. That doesn't mean we need to give everything away and go without 'stuff'. The opposite of hoard is not give. The opposite of hoard is share. When we use our stuff to serve others, instead of hoarding it, we use it for the purpose God intended. When we share our stuff with others, we use it for the purpose God intended.

We can change the worldly view of the purpose of life. We can change the worldly view of stuff. All we have to do is teach by example. Let it go. Let it release it's hold on you. We fool ourselves into believing that we are in possession of our stuff, but in reality, it has possession of us. We are afraid to let someone else use it and mar it's shiny newness. How often do we not use it, afraid of marring it's shining newness, or decreasing it's value? Our stuff can fool us into looking out for it's interests instead of our own. But we have the power to release the grip our stuff has on us. Get off the can and let it go!