The Search for Meaning
A job is not a purpose for living. Many people are depressed because they feel they have no reason to live. Can you imagine going to work every day—living life just for work? A friend of mine was talking to me and said, "Imagine you come to work and someone says your cap is $70,000." This means that is how much you are worth; you cannot be paid more than that. You work all day, and because you spend most of your time there, it exhausts you. By the time you finish, you don’t want to do anything else because you are so tired and worn down that you can’t think of a better way to do things.
I read somewhere that John D. Rockefeller said, "He who works all day has no time to make money." Many of these jobs seem menial, almost redundant, and they destroy creativity. Imagine, for example, that you are a clerk and all you do is check papers every single day. How is that improving you as a human being? It is not.
I am not saying that a job is not necessary or important. It is important to work because God Himself created work so that men must work; however, work itself is not the purpose of living. Work is good because it sustains us and provides a living. We know that without work, idleness will creep in, and idleness is detrimental to our being. Often, the richer a society gets, the more idle its citizens become, and the more moral corruption sweeps in.
In order to have a fulfilling life, we need a mission—a purpose for why we are alive. I think the most important mission is to seek to uplift humanity, especially in the situations we find ourselves in. This is the difference between someone who is fulfilled and someone who is not. If you are simply living for yourself, for a paycheck, or for money, you will not find value in life. This is one reason why in materialistic nations, the more money people have, the more depressed they become. Living for "paper" is not life.
You are more valuable than paper. How can human life, which is more important than money—considering we created money—be determined by it? The Bible calls it idolatry, and it really is idolatry when you think about it. We create paper money and then waste our lives chasing it to find meaning.
No, meaning derives from living for something greater than oneself. We can look to God to see how to live a fulfilling life. God goes out daily seeking to uplift humanity and pour out His blessings upon us. The Bible says He causes His rain to fall on the just and the unjust. Rain, in this context, symbolizes His blessings, as rain is instrumental for an abundant harvest. God lives for others. This is the key to life: living for others.
This is the great principle of success. If you want to start a business, don’t look only at what will make you money—for greed may soon overtake you—but ask, "How can I better serve my community?" If you like baking cookies, bake for others because it brings them joy. I am not saying it must necessarily be for free, but the ruling motive should be serving, not money. When the motive is service rather than profit, quality is retained. Profit-driven businesses eventually forsake quality for quantity.
In conclusion, whatever you do, if you want life to be fulfilling, seek to serve God primarily and then serve creation—your fellow man.
May God bless you.
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