Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity…I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. Ecclesiastes 1:2,14
One of the most heart-rending and puzzling stories in the whole wide world is the tragic disillusionment of the richest man that ever lived on earth-King Solomon. After amassing all the wealth in the world, receiving uncommon wisdom, acquiring enormous knowledge, pursuing every kind of pleasure on the planet and gaining unmatched fame across the globe, he ends up depressed and hopeless. He finds everything to be vanity of vanities, pointless and worthless, null and void.
Such is the language of a disillusioned soul! Such is the plight of a depressed achiever. It all goes to show that fulfilling all your dreams may not count in the end. Achieving all your goals may not give you ultimate satisfaction. Only LIVING ON PURPOSE will do.
You see, there is a difference between achieving your goals and fulfilling your purpose. Never confuse the two! While GOALS are targets you set by and for yourself, your PURPOSE is the reason why you’re on earth. Goals take care of the HOW. Purpose concerns your WHY. While goals can be arbitrary or random, purpose is predestined. Anyone can set any sort of goals, weird or otherwise, with no guarantee that the goals set necessarily match the will of God for one’s life.
Why should we bother to live on purpose? The Bible asserts that we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works God prepared for us to do well in advance (Ephesians 2:10). It also teaches that God has clearly defined, wonderful PLANS for every one of His children (Jeremiah 29:11). So our Maker has a reason for making us. We are not our own.
To illustrate, using a car as a chicken coop (chicken house) is serious misuse! While chickens can certainly live somewhat happily in a car, that is NOT the car’s purpose. Likewise, humans can deploy themselves to all sorts of functions and uses, but not all such uses are correct. It is incumbent upon ourselves to make sure that we are living according to our designer’s intent. Until you and I learn to live in perfect harmony with our true purpose, we will never know true fulfilment. Say no to personal abuse and misuse! Say yes to living on purpose.
Pastor Josh