A Life Without Purpose



What amount of pressure becomes too much when considering the mental state of an individual that is overwhelmed as a result of diverse responsibilities, or merely trying to find meaning to life?  Where is the breaking point?  How many people are on the tightrope of despair and ready to plummet into utter dismay at any time? 

The strain of trying to maintain balance and level headedness quickly takes its toll when people lean on their own strength and abilities.  How many hurting people are growing tired of insurmountable challenges and overwhelming uncertainties in life?  Many I'm afraid.

It should concern us all when considering how many people in the world are on the brink of a nervous breakdown or in need of psychiatric evaluation and help.  We rub shoulders with them every day, and seldom, if ever, do we know who they are.  Everywhere around us are needy people that are giving into feelings of oppression and misgivings that there is little reason for living.

More teenagers are committing suicide in America than ever before in the history of this great land; a land of liberty, yet so many are floundering hopelessly; bound to the notion that there is no purpose in life.  They feel like their existence is void of meaning, with no future.  They believe that killing themselves is the only answer to their unhappiness. 

Their world has become a living hell; mundane, insignificant and boring.  They have accepted the lies that Satan has fed them that there is no hope.  He has convinced them to give up and end it all.

Realization to the needs of others hits home when reading the daily newspaper or watching the evening news on television when the reporter announces that a person has taken the lives of innocent bystanders before ending their own life. 

Answers may never be known why they did such a senseless act, but I believe it was because of despondency, the lack of stability, and having no direction in life—a life without purpose.

Think about it.  Could this person or others like them be the individual that we get angry with while driving?  Is the co-worker that we speak harshly to in the workplace one of these people?  Is the moron that cuts in line in front of you ready to explode at any moment?

Who are they?  What do they look like?  How close are they to snapping?  We can become oblivious to the needs of others, because of our own perplexities in life.  What gesture or comment that we speak to them in haste could put us in harms way?  What straw might it be that finally breaks their will and pushes them over the edge?

  

I don’t have the answers, but I do know that I would rather not find them out the hard way and be on the receiving end of frustration at its highest peak.  For this reason alone we should treat others with respect and kindness; the way we want to be treated.  Kindness goes a long way in preventing unnecessary happenings. 

In this hustle and bustle environment in which we live, we are prone to give others a piece of our mind at times when diplomacy, coupled with kindheartedness, should be implemented.  If we would practice (Proverbs 15:1-2) we would be more able to resolve a bad state of affairs before something irreversible takes place.

(Proverbs 15:1-2) “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  vs.2 “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.”

When conversing with strangers, and even a family member, it is wise to be kind.  We don’t know the depth of despair in which they may be drowning.  Are they going down for the third time?  We don’t know, but a smile or a word fitly spoken can change a potentially bad situation into a good one, because of benevolence.

Life without purpose can drive a person to the precipice of irrational thinking, which causes poor decisions and reckless behavior.  Judgment becomes unbalanced and even impaired, because they have given themselves over to hopelessness, which causes sound reasoning to take flight; slipping out of one’s grasp.

Jesus is life with purpose.  He gives a reason for living and hope for tomorrow’s sunrise.  Christians possess the very thing that people in the world are searching for…peace of mind through Jesus Christ.

Christians must not hide Jesus under a bushel and say by their lack of concern, “I don’t have time for you.”  It is most important to share the ‘Good News’ that Jesus Christ can change lives and bring good out of any situation.  To be the Lord’s mouthpiece and hands outstretched is the calling of every Christian.  We must allow others to see Christ in us through our actions and words.

(1 John 3:17-18), “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”  vs.18 “My little children let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

Having compassion, love, and a caring heart is the love that God displayed when He gave His son to die on a cross for our sins.  By sharing this love with others, we can have a positive influence on those that are lost and without hope.  It affords them a choice—hope through Jesus, or hopelessness, because of self-will.  The choice is theirs to make; we cannot make it for them.

The message remains true.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  Perhaps the next person you witness to may be contemplating taking their own life or some other person’s life that day.  The Lord makes all the difference when a person yields their life to Him.  God provides peace and a reason for living. 

A LIFE WITHOUT PURPOSE need not be the epitaph on anyone’s tombstone.  Christians have the power within them to change lives for the better.  They can speak life into the heart of hurting souls before it is too late.  Jesus is the answer for a life without purpose.

Written by,

Papa Boyd