Purpose

Nothing Due

“God will meet you where you’re at”
“Don’t worry, it will happen. God has a person for you”
“This too shall pass”
“God accepts you just how you are”

Sometimes the most inaccurate things are said with the best of intentions.

In a culture that thinks that the ultimate purpose of life is to avoid suffering, the Church has parlayed the wisdom of the world into spiritual adages that sound good, but are wobbly in their theological accuracy. We often act like God is there to make sure that we are doing o.k. and that His sole reason for existence is to ensure our continued happiness. The truth is that God doesn’t owe us anything so all the good that we are given is an act of His grace. To think that we are entitled to anything else is ridiculous.

In an article called “Don’t Waste Your Life“, John Piper states, “Our life is not our own. It belongs to God.” Whatever He chooses to place in that life is solely at His discretion. Our job is to use whatever He has given us, good and bad, for His glory. That will barely make a dent into what He’s due.

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Hope Purpose

The Wisdom of Celebrity

In the December issue of InStyle, actress Natalie Portman shared, “If we can find ways to love life and by joyful without being wasteful or destructive that’s what’s important .” As a frequent reader of celebrity magazines, I know that inane comments by famous people are not entirely uncommon. What struck me about this particular comment is how difficult it is to argue against. After all, loving life and being joyful sounds good. And who among us wants to be wasteful and destructive? The edict from Miss Portman seems like a fine one except for one thing – she says unequivocally that these things are what’s important. Not that these things are important, but that they are the important things. And therein lies the problem. It assumes that what is important is our feelings and experiences and that’s just not the case. What’s important is whether our lives are adding or detracting from the glory of our Father. What’s important is whether our lives are properly aligned with His will. What’s important are matters of eternity.

I fear that wisdom like Miss Portman shares would be agreed to by many these days. And I fear that many would concede this point without recognizing the potential problems – both outside of the Church – and within.

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