Anyhow, I thought I would write down some random thoughts. Thoughts about what drives us as humans? Why do we do the things we do? What keeps us interested, motivated to go on and watch time pass (or do our very best to ignore the fact that time is passing, for that matter)? I guess this is something that, really, we don't think about enough. And when we think about these things, we become depressed, or frustrated, at the lack of satisfactory answers.
One obvious level of answer would encompass the necessities of life - food, water, shelter, procreation - the things that, by very nature, an evolutionary system aimed at self preservation and survival would need to be concerned with. Just look at what we do from day to day, a diary log would reveal entries that support this viewpoint. Work. Eating. Sleeping. Sex. People like me exist because people are afraid of death, and we pour so much of our resources simply into delaying the inevitable. Survival, longevity. But then again, let's face it - this doesn't account for the activities that set us apart from other species. Sure, we do these things, enjoy them, and survive because of it. But humans are more complicated than that.
Perhaps we should be asking, what is it that we really want? People want to enjoy themselves. We do all sorts of other things: when we're not going about ensuring our survival, we go about seeking pleasure. Sometimes this is as simple as it sounds - playing games, hanging out, recreational activities, sharing a joke. But, layered on top of this, some interests are more ethereal. Fun? Maybe. But they seem to point to something higher.
Some forms of pleasure don't seem intrinsically to be linked to pleasure at all. After all, who would look at the hours of practice that go into learning a musical instrument and call that pleasure? These sorts of activities, however, do indeed aim at pleasure. They are geared towards bettering oneself in one way or another. They lead to a deeper sort of satisfaction - an inner sense of achievement, one that we are sometimes lucky enough to have. Yet others gain an altruistic satisfaction from aiding others - a sort of pleasure that can only be found in complex human society.
Another seemingly popular motive for the things we do is money. In developed societies, we all work for money, this buys us our necessities, and is a frequent means of attaining pleasure. There are the times, though, when money, in and of itself, seems to be a driving force. Ask the rich, and you'll quickly notice that many of the things they do are geared to further stretch their wealth - in spite of clearly having enough. Investments, property sales, tax optimisation (and evasion) are among those methods. Money can quickly become an intoxication. This is well illustrated by Mark 10:17-29, where Jesus teaches of the trappings of wealth, observing that "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God". The rich young man was virtuous in many other ways, but money proved to be his Achilles' heel. He was confronted with a choice between money, and eternal life, and chose not to give up his comfort - money. What then, is it about money that makes it such a strong allure? Is it the money itself? Is it the comfort, the security that it brings? Most people, when they see money, see beyond it to the things they can buy - food, new clothes, a holiday, a new car or house. Commodities geared to our comfort.
Comfort, pleasure, survival. This seems to account for most things.
But, then, many people seem to have these things in increasing amounts - and yet, they seem dissatisfied. Always striving for something else. Something more. There is more to life than being comfortable, having pleasure, and health, even procreation. Deep down inside, people yearn for something else, something better than life even. I wonder, then, whether this is one reason why so many people turn to religion, looking for a reason to live. So many religions exist, probably for this reason. Most are self-centred. Most leave it up to the individual to live a certain way, and therefore receive reward and fulfiilment. However the Bible reveals further purpose for mankind.
God created man. Ever wonder why God created the universe? It's not always intuitive in today's secular society - but if we look around us, we see nature, beauty, the work of the hand of God. Praise to Him, who created our world! This is, then, one of our greatest purposes - to be in a relationship with our God, praising and glorifying Him for what He has done. We are blinded by sin - that which separates us from God. But when our eyes are opened, when we find out our true identity as people of God, and as Peter says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
So, our personal purpose is intertwined heavily with the purpose of the whole universe. We have been made for God's glory, and He calls us through Jesus to join in this purpose. Praise Him!
As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by
God and precious to him — you also, like living stones, are being built into a
spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious
cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to
shame." Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not
believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,"
and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them
fall." They stumble because they disobey the message — which is also what they
were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a
people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but
now you have received mercy.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and
strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your
soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of
doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits
us.
- 1 Peter 2:4-12
5 comments:
I recently started wondering about the following verses, from Ecclesiastes 5:19-20:
'Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work — this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.'
It sounds like it is God who gives us contentment in life and work. Which raises a couple of questions for me:
1) What happens when we are discontent? Does that mean God is not blessing us with contentment? Or does it mean something else?
2) Is reflection on one's life a good thing or bad thing? How come contentment is inversely linked to reflection?
Good questions! I don't know the answers.
However, I wonder about the connection there between contentment and being occupied with gladness of heart, and reflection. It seems that contentment/discontentment, and gladness, are states of the mind/heart/soul. Indeed, it is God who blesses us with contentment and gladness of heart - but why does this mean "he seldom reflects on the days of his life"? My first interpretation is that this form of reflection is an introspection, and it may be the case that this is as opposed to reflecting on what God has done in our lives. I can hardly think that the content person won't reflect on their lives at all, thinking about the wonders and miracles God has performed.
On the other hand, perhaps God might withhold the blessing of contentment for a reason. Job is one example. Indeed, most characters in the Bible were not always content - the notable exception being Paul, who learned contentment (? "learned") in all circumstances, despite extensive persecutions! This didn't mean that Paul didn't want things to change - he was always yearning for change in his congregations, correcting/teaching them when they went astray. So, he wasn't satisfied with the situation as such - but he was content.
One thing that I take from this is that Ecclesiastes suggests that contentment on one hand is a blessing from God, yet, as Paul demonstrates, it can also be learned.
Desiring change does not mean discontentment. Nor does comfort mean contentment. And I don't think that reflection, per se, is incompatible with being content or godly. As for how to "learn" contentment, then, this is the million dollar question!
reflections on this futile life... reminds me of an earlier blog of mine... http://elkandren.blogspot.com/2006/04/blankness.html
Hi there,
I have a geniune question about Christianity: Why does God need us to glorify Him if he's already so great and infinitely better than anything else in existence?
Great question!
Firstly, I don't think God needs us to glorify him... as you say, God is perfect and all-powerful, so he doesn't need anything from anyone!
Psalm 50 makes this point very well, where God rebukes the Israelites for behaving as though he needed their sacrifices:
'I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.' (vv. 9-10)
Why did God want the Israelites to sacrifice to him (and us to honour him) then? Well, I think part of the answer, at least, lies in the rest of the psalm. I'll let you read it for yourself instead of just getting someone's (mine ;-p) interpretation of it: it can be found at
(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=23&chapter=50&version=31)
And then, of course, besides God wanting us to glorify him, there's also another part - that he deserves to be glorified. Perhaps I'll let someone else elaborate on that point.
Hope that helped, and feel free to ask more questions.
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