Living with Purpose

     It is so easy to live trivial lives. We focus in and build barriers to keep others out. We say we are too busy with work, too tired, too broke, or even too fat. We've lost our purpose. We've strayed away from the simple truth of living for Christ...To love your neighbor as yourself. We love ourselves, but may not even know our literal neighbors and care little for our figurative neighbors.
     We think we've found our purpose in striving for success, finances, fitness, fame, recognition among our peers, kudos at work, and all must be done without even a nod toward God since many of us need to keep a distance between church and state. 
     If we stop a moment to take inventory of our blessings, the names of those we love bubble up to the top of our watery, out of focus worlds. As we try to keep our heads above this swirling alphabet soup of worldly lists of responsibilities, expectations, and priorities; we often regain our focus while sitting in a hospital waiting room, a chemotherapy center, or next to a casket in a mortuary.
     Our purpose is to serve God and others. When the kaleidoscope of idols finally settles and we can see clearly through the madness we have gotten caught up in, a still small voice brings us back to our senses and reminds us that living with a purpose is not living for ourselves while seeing how much money we can accumulate, but rather giving away ourselves, our money, our resources, and ultimately our freedoms for a bigger, more eternal purpose.

^{Exodus 9:16} But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.