What Is The Point Of Toiling In Life? We’re All Going To Die Anyway!
Isn’t everything we work and sweat for, fight for, all meaningless at the end of the day!
Why struggle, why toil with life? Why work our butts off when we’re going to die tomorrow and leave everything behind? What is the point of this wretched life anyway!
The very fact that we’re bothered by such questions implies we have — unconsciously — internalized a very important view of reality. Namely, that the world was brought into being by a Creator.
Because if the world wasn’t created, if it’s “just here,” then what’s the point of asking about purpose? Things that are “just here” don’t need a purpose. But the Bible tells us that the universe was created. Time has a beginning. If so, the notion of purpose has meaning: Why did things begin? What is the point of there being anything and not just leaving nothing alone?
Secondly, to ask such a question, you are also assuming there is a consciousness behind creation. Consciousness means “a decisive process.” Things don’t just happen by a chain of linear causality — neither do they happen “by Chance”. There is a design behind the universe, and that design is not inevitable. Again, this is the stance of the bible, “In the beginning, ‘God’ created the heavens and the earth” — NOT, “In the beginning, things just sort of happened.”
The bible creates the problem of purpose, and it makes the problem next to impossible to solve. Why? Because it says that God, the Creator of all this, is perfect.
Perfect means, “not lacking in anything”. No faults. No needs. Everything is there. Not only everything we could imagine in its ultimate state of perfection — ultimate wisdom, ultimate knowledge, ultimate creativity, ultimate power, ultimate beauty — but that which we cannot imagine, as well, since it is not part of our world.
Purpose, on the other hand, implies a deficiency craving compensation. As in, “I don’t have this — how do I get it?” I lack food — I eat. I lack shelter — I build a house. Likewise, I lack love — I get into a relationship. Therefore, human relationships, eating, and building all have purpose.
God is not hungry. He doesn’t have to worry about getting wet in the rain. He can do simply fine without getting into a relationship. He’s perfect. That’s what makes Him God. So, if God requires nothing, why does He need a world?
Without the act of creation, all of God’s infinite perfections lie in a state of potential. Creation is something like the expression of an artist, bringing that potential into reality.
Purpose and the ‘God is Good’ puzzle
God is good; therefore, He creates. Being good is more than self-expression, more than being an artist. Both an artist and a philanthropist give. But while the artist is driven by the urge to actualize his talents, the philanthropist is driven by the needs of others.
To the artist, the audience has no essential worth, other than being an outlet for his art. The philanthropist, however, is concerned with more than just giving — he is concerned that someone should be receiving. If he is giving food, he is concerned that the people should no longer be hungry. If he is providing education, he is concerned that the students should no longer be ignorant. The recipient’s personal world is of prime importance to him.
It doesn’t help for God to say, “If there were created beings, I would be good to them.” It has to actually happen, they have to be actually there and actually receive goodness. That is what being good is all about. So, a world came to be by implication of God’s absolute goodness.
All the toil and tribulation of humankind can be explained this way: Why do we have free choice? Why do we make errors in the dark? Why all this struggle? All because God is good and wishes for us the ultimate good. “Free bread, is bread of shame.” If you genuinely want to give to others, give them the opportunity to earn the gift. That’s dignified bread. So, God allows us to struggle, so we can feel a sense of ownership to the fruits of our toil.
Who decided that being good to another is a good thing? Who created “goodness” and its definitions? He did! Along with all the rules of logic and rationality. As we said above, God has no need or “reason” for creating a world. He just did it. But when He did it, He did it with a purpose. He decided to desire to have two opposites at once:
- A very ordinary, real-world…
- …discovering its Creator in all its aspects.
We are here to make a difference, to mend the fractures of the world we live in, a day at a time, an act at a time, for as long as it takes to make it a place of justice and compassion where the lonely are not alone, the poor not without help; where the cry of the vulnerable is heeded and those who are wronged are heard. ‘Someone else’s physical needs are my spiritual obligation,’.
The religious person differs from the irreligious person only by experiencing their existence not simply as a task, but as a mission. This means that he is also aware of the master, the source of his mission. For thousands of years, that source has been called God.
Questions for you to Ponder
- Who do you serve for — people, God, or both? Why?
- How do you understand the difference between living life as a ‘task’ and living life as a ‘mission?’
- Do you approach your own life as a ‘mission?’ If not, what other word would you use to describe your approach to living your life?
- Is there a source of inspiration that guides you in how you try to live your life?
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