I saw this Venn diagram and kind of came to an understanding about life. Maybe we put far too much into the analysis and the academic bells and whistles, but probably way too little time into actually living it practically
Now, I wouldn’t want to leave the impression that I oppose the social sciences in their quest to understand how we live and interact and think, but honestly, there’s something to be said for leaving it to the academics. Just tell me what it all means in how I’m living and quit overwhelming me with the statistics and the diagrams and the “science” behind it all. It just feels like the proverbial self-licking ice cream cone — existing for its own sake.
Of course, I’m probably over-reacting. I mean, social scientists have to eat too. And they provide valuable insights and services to society. But I almost get the impression that people in the midst of their studies — about something which matters to them and about which they’re even excited at times — just want to share the enthusiasm. There’s nothing wrong with that. But let’s make no mistake about it — life is nothing like the Venn. Especially a Venn so “busy” that trying to find your own balance within it just results in a breakdown of frustration. Q: “What’s my purpose in life?” A: “Well, you see, if you figure out what you’re good at, what you love, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs, you’ll find that sweet spot where your life actually has real purpose!”
Sounds good to me — nice and box-checky and all. But in application? I’m not so sure.
How about you give me this instead: “What is the chief end of man?” What is our most important purpose — one from which all purpose flows?
Some of you might be saying, “Hey, I see what you did there.” Others, maybe not. But before I give you the answer to that question, let me give you some context.
And my context is this: Life. Reality. What does it really mean? How can the things I do even matter?
I’ll tell you, honestly, that I’ve had my struggles over time. Maybe you’ve gotten that sense here on occasion. I try to soften it a bit, knowing that people who genuinely love me and care for me read this blog. I don’t want them to worry over the things that happen to me in the course of my life…because I know it’s happening to them too. I just try to leave it at “Hey, let’s all love each other and help each other out as much as we can. Be aware. Be there. Encourage.” You never know what’s going on in another person’s life, even more so the further they are from you. I’m an entire ocean and then some away from many of the people I know and love, and although I can still pick up a conversation with my best friend like we never left off, we still more often don’t talk for months at a time.
But I’ve got something going for me too, and it’s right there in the answer to the question I posed above. What is my purpose (and the purpose of every one of us on the planet)? It’s quite simple. My purpose is “Glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
“Ugh. Not that old bible-thumper crap. Who talks like that anymore?” Well. I do. I actually find he answer quite exciting, and let me show you with a Venn diagram…
Well, not really. That’s a diagram from a journal I was writing in grad school a quarter century ago.
As for the real answer — “To glorify God and enjoy him forever” — to give it a quick reading, one might think it an absolutely dreary proposition. How can any of us enjoy a being whom we are compelled to glorify? And forever? I like John Piper’s take on it: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” God isn’t some old codger grandpa in the sky regaling us with stories of how he made the earth for the infinity-millionth time. And we’re not going to be flying around on clouds with little wings playing harps either. We will be lifted to a realm of such beauty and peace that there are just no words to describe it. No death. No mourning, no crying, no pain. No tears. For eternity. Beyond anything we could ever even conceive.
In that context, one cannot but glorify God. And enjoy him. Forever.