Reminding ourselves of our purpose
By Mark Roth
This week, yet another book on the meaning of life crossed my path.
This newest entry is “The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters,” by Emily Esfahani Smith. She is a columnist and editor, and in an interview with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Smith said she wrote the book because “so many of the people that I know and admire aren’t focused on pursuing their own personal happiness. They’re focused on leading meaningful lives and what they can do for others.”
Consulting social scientists, psychologists and others, Smith said she discerned four pillars to a meaningful life: “having relationships that are defined by a sense of belonging; having a purpose or something worthwhile to do with their time; crafting narratives that help them understand themselves in the world; and having experiences of transcendence.”
Sound familiar?
Perhaps it’s inevitable that, as religious affiliation in our society weakens, people will turn more and more to books like this one to discover a sense of purpose.
But we religious folk have been in the “purpose-driven life” business for thousands of years, even if we sometimes forget it.
Does your church foster “relationships that are defined by a sense of belonging”? Does it give people a sense of purpose? Does it weave people into a great story of meaning and servanthood? And does your church make a place and time for moments of beauty and transcendence?
If you stop and think, you can probably remember when your church built relationships by accepting someone who didn’t fit in anywhere else — and maybe that someone was you. You can remember how being asked to serve a meal, build a house or teach a child gave your life new purpose; You can recall the tears flowing down your cheeks when a pastor put into words your deepest yearnings and made you part of God’s eternal narrative. You can recapture the out-of-body transcendence of singing Silent Night amid the candlelight.
Do we need a book to tell us how to lead a purposeful life? Then let’s read it together: “In the beginning … Do not worry about tomorrow … Go into all the world.”
Mark Roth is a retired journalist and freelancer who specializes in writing about health and science issues. He is a Ruling Elder based at East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. He serves as an Adaptive Change Adviser for Pittsburgh Presbytery’s Unglued Church Project.