It was an interactive session that will be on my mind for a long time; intelligent questions were asked that got me quite pensive. It was a dinner meeting organized by Redeemed Christian Church of God, Iba Parish for their young men on the 27th of December and I was privileged to be the key note speaker. The task I was given was quite simple; motivate the youth group on the concept of purpose and its relevance to their lives as they enter the New Year. This topic I also believe will be relevant to my dear readers as they plan for the year ahead.
What is man’s purpose on earth? This is a relevant question that will open us up to our individual purpose on earth. The only purpose we have on earth is to dominate it; this is the purpose we have as individuals in our respective calling and the bible points out four prerequisite we must attain in order to achieve this feat; we must be fruitful (result oriented); we must multiply (model, influence or teach others to be result oriented); we must replenish (we must sustainably make use of earth’s resources) and we must subdue (must be in control – an inside-out approach).
These four elemental mixes are very paramount to man’s sanity. If man is not effective or producing result in whatever field he ventures in, he becomes existential rather than purposeful. Even if he produces results and does not empower others, he feels congealed and numbed. When man does not reason in a sustainable manner, he literarily becomes spiritually empty and being out of control is not man’s best ally.
Pastor Rick Warren wrote one of the bestselling books on purpose; I have actually not read the book but I have heard him speak on one of the TED conferences where he elaborated on purpose and its significance to man. I love his concept very much especially on the 3 “Iâ€s concept but most concept like the 3â€Iâ€s concept do not give an elaborate description of purpose. Purpose is seen most of the time as the right direction concept but purpose is more than that.
In retrospect, I could compare the “dominate†concept to Rick Warren’s 3â€Iâ€s of purpose where the 3 “Iâ€s represent Identity, Income and Influence; whatever thing(s) you are doing on earth must give you an identity, influence and income. The only elements that were not mentioned by these 3 “Iâ€s were “subdue and replenish†part of the deal because for man to dominate his calling, he must truly understand control and sustainability.
If you are fruitful, it is easy for doors to open for you and it is easier for you to influence people especially the younger generation hence creating a multiplication effect but if you do not have control, you are likened to a city without walls; you can easily be attacked and swayed into different directions. The whole concept of purpose is to give you control to your destiny. Subdue mentioned here, is not the dictionary definition of forcefully putting an external body to your control but forcefully putting all situation and persecution to your benefit.
This means you are ruled by an internal compass not by the dictates of external pressure. If you are by-passed for promotion in your workplace, you are not affected as long as you are in line with your purpose; it is not the position or increment of salary but the fact that you are fulfilling purpose you are called to achieve. This may become hard to bear on the human front but this is the idea of purpose; the fact that you were not promoted gives you the opportunity to shift the way you think with regards to purpose.
When asked what the role of persecution is in purpose achievement, I simply pointed out the concept of control and the ability to use the persecution to your advantage. The fact that you regard a situation as persecution only means you are not refined enough to achieve your call to destiny; persecution prepares you for what is ahead and makes you achieve your purpose better. The one who produces more is the one that has learnt from persecution more.
The whole concept of sustainability is very important to purpose; you cannot achieve your purpose alone. You must have a holistic mindset or you are definitely not in line with purpose. The ability to give-back or maximizing the earth’s resources with a sense of responsibility is paramount to purpose. I remember an illustration I drew in the meeting about how everybody matters and how the success of your neighbor is important to your success.
If A, B and C start out after graduation; A and B decided to follow the employment while C decided to through the self-employment route. If after 5 years, A and B have reached a high point in their career and they are doing quite well but C is still struggling with his business. If A and B decided not to help C and C goes bankrupt. C may be forced into fraudulent business and may end up defrauding A and B of their life savings.
Replenishing simply means giving back what you get back from the earth; whenever you draw resources from the earth, it is important you give back or the resources become extinct. The whole buhaha about going green is an effort to remind us that we have to watch how we make use of resources though there are plenty political and economic instigated green efforts especially in Africa, the idea propagated is the same.
I rounded up the meeting with my usual fleshing out the parable of the talent and the importance of increasing whatever talent they possess describing a wicked act as someone who decides not to grow his talent. Purpose begins with increasing the talent that God has bestowed onto you; it is the easiest route to fruitfulness which is the first step to dominating the earth. Talents include money, skill, experience and degrees.
Thank you very much for staying with me all through 2008, you have thoroughly blessed me by reading my articles and interviews. I truly appreciate my commentators who take their time and effort to trap their opinions in the comment box; for every comment you write, you have shaped someone’s life forever. Let us work together in 2009 to provoke the thoughts of numerous readers to success. Wishing you a purposeful and prosperous New Year in advance!
