Why were you born?

Why were you born? You might think this is a stupid question, but it is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself. Have you ever asked yourself: why did God make me? I’m sure you have, but before you answer, take the trouble to read what follows.

I have analysed life and people and identified six types of people.

Type 1 people are always busy bemoaning why they ever came into this world. Life is so full of problems: illnesses, lack of money, joblessness, death of relatives and friends and so on. They ask themselves: what is this thing called life? And sometimes when the going gets really tough, they commit suicide to escape from an extreme sense of hopelessness and despair.

Type 2 is the routine life type. Sometimes life is a boring cycle of getting up, sitting or working, eating, sleeping and, for some, going to church on Sunday. If one is working, the pay cheque at the end of the month brings some excitement. There is a sense of purpose in the power to buy!

Type 3 is the pleasure-loving type. This is that group of people who, to escape from the perceived meaninglessness of life, will seek refuge in extreme forms of pleasure: drugs, drinking, smoking, sex—and in extreme cases even raping and sometimes even maiming or killing.

Type 4 finds purpose in power and wealth. They will do anything to amass them. To these people life means political, influence, a big house, luxurious cars, lots of money in the bank, and, oh yes, making other people feel the weight of their power! They will stop at nothing because, as the cliché goes, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!

Type 5 is that group who find meaning in what they are doing: they may be working as teachers, home executives, nurses, pastors, nuns, missionaries, doctors, peacemakers, researchers or politicians, and so on. Whatever they are doing gives purpose and meaning to their lives. Each day that comes brings with it a sense of fulfilment about what has been achieved or can be achieved. There are challenges and disappointments from time to time: job losses may occur, and there may be conflicts with colleagues or bosses in the workplace, but on the whole there is a sense of achievement and contentment.

There are many such people to whom it is not so much money or power that matters, but the sense that one is doing something worthwhile for humanity, for one’s country, one’s church, one’s family; or for the disadvantaged, dispossessed and oppressed people of this world. In oppressive countries some such people rot in jail or are even murdered for their convictions and good works.

Why is it that the majority of people do not belong to Type 5? Surely the world would be a much better place if the vast majority of people belonged to this group?

But let’s not be quick to condemn those who wallow in self-pity, those who do not know what to do with their lives and those who drown their sorrows in beer or crime. Society is partly responsible for what happens to these people.

Our education system, our churches and our parents have not done enough to teach people to find meaning in life; to find joy, not in money and power, but in having a sense of purpose; to find fulfilment in serving and making other people happy. This takes us to Type 6, the last group I have identified.

Type 6 is a small subset of Type 5. This is a group of seekers: those who have come to the conviction that the ultimate purpose of life is to live for a purpose; those who believe that significance is of more lasting value than success.

These people know that they are important, not in and of themselves, but because what they have discovered to be their purpose is God’s purpose, God’s mission for them. They are seekers of God’s will for them because they know that God wants every one of us to play a role in the betterment of society and the building of his kingdom on earth.

So, now that you have reflected on these things, which type would you like to be?