the “why” of life: purpose statements
I’ve had a life purpose statement for almost 28 years. It’s morphed a few times and is about to morph again, but it’s been there since I heard Ron Blue ask this question:
If your life is a dollar, what will you spend it for?
At the ripe old age of 34, I didn’t have a clue. Truth be known, my purpose statement would have read “Go as far as I can as fast as I can.” No thought as to where I was going or what I’d do when I got there. “Far” is a place you never get to and “fast as I can” is an abyss. I needed purpose. I started the quest. Haven’t stopped.
Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life started a lot of talk about purpose. “It’s not about you” was a huge stake in the ground. And “to glorify God” was the other stake. I knew my purpose had to be about glorifying God and about touching others. But how?
A short little book called The On-Purpose Person by Kevin McCarthy helped me a ton. That little allegory helped me put “how” to the “why” with this purpose statement…
“I, Regi Campbell, exist to glorify God as I love, serve and challenge others to be all they can be and give all of themselves to Jesus Christ.”
And that’s been ‘it’ for a long, long time.
Last year, I realized I’d put the emphasis on the wrong word. I’d become a self-appointed expert in “challenge” and neglected the “love and serve” part. I’ve been working on it….focusing more on loving people than trying to fix them.
Like most good things, this whole idea of purpose started with Jesus. His purpose, as stated in John 10:10b…. “I have come that they might have life and have it to the full.”
His life, death and resurrection gives us eternal life. What He taught, energized in us by the Holy Spirit, gives us meaningful lives NOW, if… and here’s a big if….IF we buy into it’s not about us. Life “to the full” only happens when we start living our lives for others. And with ‘glorifying God’ as our purpose, we have a why for everything we do.
So translate that into my work-life…to my secular job, as secular as they come.
A quote from my friend John…
“We go out looking for work that will bring purpose. God wants us to bring purpose to our work, no matter what it is.”
Easier to say than to do.
Here’s the trick. God cares about our motives…our hearts…the ‘why’ we do what we do. Sure, He wants us to work smart and hard. But when our “why” is about Him (e.g. loving Him by loving others), He’s in it with us. When our “why” is to make money or a name for ourselves, it’s about us. About “me and mine”. We’re on our own.
I snagged this quote from Peterson’s Message paraphrase of Matthew 12…
“It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.”
If you go to work to get what you want, you’re living for you. But when you start with what He wants, your purpose bends toward glorifying Him instead of you. That’s the happy place. And you’ll see over and over, what He wants is for us to love and serve people. His highest and best creation. Made in His image. What He bled and died for.
I spend a month helping my Radical Mentoring guys develop life purpose statements. The “drums say” its one of the most helpful things we do. Let me encourage you to give it a shot. Knowing your purpose is to glorify God in your unique design and personality won’t keep you from wondering off the farm. But it might help you remember where the farm is so you can find your way back.
Question: If you’ve written a life purpose statement for yourself, share it with us. We might learn something. Share it here.
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Responses (6)
Responding from the influence of John Piper and enabled by the Holy Spirit my life purpose statement has been”I have been created to glorify God and enjoy him by loving, serving and sharing hope in Christ” I always feel compelled to explain what I mean by the statement whenever I am in discussion about topics like marriage, work, relationships, pride, surrender, etc. It serves as my foundation point. By the grace of God I was introduced to your work and ministry. I am the same age and have similar passions to serve Christ as you have done. I am grateful for the path the Lord has let you blaze.
May the Lord contine to equip and inspire you for His glory!
John Hinkle
Thanks for sharing John.
I, Charles Mwangi Kihumba, exist to glorify God as I love, serve and challenge others to discover all God gifted them to be, and give all of themselves to doing it in the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.
Love and serve come first. Be careful with “challenge”…you can make people projects and try and fix them. If you’ve earned the right with a truly close, intimate friendship, then challenging can be great. But God alone will change hearts.
Reggie,
I am behind on my reading, so this response will seem later than you may have desired.
About a year ago, I was challenged to write a “”six-word autobiographical sketch”. This is meant to be my personal vision, purpose, and mission statement combined, then drilled down or summed up to be complete, even in its brevity…
“To Boldly Love God and Others.”
More difficult to do than say. But to me it means walking into the places where Christ would go to share His love, without fear or hesitation. And there is great power in those moments, which comes not from me, but from God.
Thanks for your commitment to “bring up” other Godly men!
I love the clarity. Only challenge is to ask God to show you what it is about you that’s unique and how He wants to use that. For me, it’s the challenge word. (My wife says I’m a challenge…big time!). But it’s been useful to know what my uniqueness is and to give it to God to use for His glory. Just a thought….