I would like to share the 40 day Purpose Driven Life journey with you so we can share our thoughts and enlighten ourselves by learning from each other.
Let me preface this discussion by stipulating that although Rick Warren’s book is geared toward Christians, I don’t want to limit this discussion to religious beliefs.
We are all in search of our purpose in life. I want to use the chapters laid out in Pastor Rick Warren’s book as merely a starting point to see where this discussion leads so please, no judgement on the beliefs of others who post comments.
Let’s see where this goes!
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Day 1 topic – According to Chapter 1 in the book, “A Purpose Driven Life”, the fundamental mistake people make when trying to figure out their purpose is that they think it’s about THEMSELVES. ”What is MY purpose?” “Why am I on this earth?”
Pastor Warren postulates that the focus is wrong with this line of questioning. It has to be based on the premise that God (or a higher power) created you for a reason and therefore your question should be something like; “What is the larger cosmic purpose that this higher power had intended for me?”
The corollary to that is the only way to find out your intended purpose, is to get closer to that higher power.
Here are my thoughts after reflecting on this…
I don’t believe that your life is meaningless if you don’t believe in a higher power. Some people are without religion because they don’t have faith. If they can’t see it, they don’t believe it. They trust science, facts and proofs. Does that mean that these people never find their purpose in life?
Absolutely not! Think of the scientists who dedicate their lives to researching cures for disease. They have a purpose. They found it and it drives them to pursue their passions every day. They achieve fulfillment through their work and know that they are doing what they were meant to do. They are certainly not all religious folks either…However, they have a talent, a passion, and a purpose, and it is being put to use.
You can replace the scientist in this example with anyone, really.
So I guess my point here is that I don’t really agree with the argument that you will never find your purpose in life unless you get closer to God.
As a matter of fact, I prefer Pastor Warren’s latest teachings he shared on the Oprah channel not long ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8aPy95b9lQ
So, what do you think?
