Purpose?

April 1st, 2023| Topic: RaMbLeS | 6

There was a fad, especially in Christendom, some years ago to label everything “Purpose Driven.” It all began with Saddleback Church’s Rick Warren publishing a Bible study in 2002, The Purpose Driven Life. A quick search of Amazon revealed all kinds of titles with “Purpose Driven” in them. P-D Life of Helping Others, P-D Church, P-D Youth Ministry, P-D Marriage, P-D Innovation, P-D Leadership, P-D School, and even P-D Retirement. The fad, most believe, is now dying.

But then there was, a few months ago, this from scientists at Boston University School of Medicine, Harvard’s School of Public Health, and the University of British Columbia: “Purpose in Life and 8-Year Mortality by Gender and Race/Ethnicity among Older Adults in the U.S.,” published in Preventive Medicine.

Purpose, defined as the extent to which someone perceives a sense of direction and goals in their life, has been linked to numerous health benefits in recent years—improved physical functioning, lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and a lower risk of cognitive decline.

And now, apparently, leading a Purpose Driven Life will keep you away from the grave a bit longer!

The researchers used data from a nationally representative study of U.S. adults ages 50 and older to conduct this research, all 13,000 of them, looking at their self-reported sense of purpose (based on the “purpose in life” segment of the Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scales, a widely used tool that measures different aspects of well-being and happiness). At the same time, the mortality risk was also examined, for an eight-year period.

Dr. Koichiro Shiba, lead author:

Having a purpose in life has been known to improve many health outcomes on average. We found that the beneficial effect of purpose on lowering all-cause mortality persisted regardless of gender and race/ethnicity. As purpose levels increased, risk of all-cause mortality decreased.“

Overall, people with the highest sense of purpose displayed the lowest risk of death (15.2 percent) in comparison to others with the lowest observed sense of purpose (36.5 percent).

Have purpose. Live longer.

I would be curious to know what purpose these folks had, and whether the subject/object of their purpose made any difference to their lifespans.

There is an unusual word in the New Testament, usually translated “ambition” or “purpose” or even “goal.” φιλοτιμέομαι, philotimeomai. Only used three times in the New Testament and all three times by the apostle Paul.

We have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:9

Whether he lived or died, what was important for Paul was to be Purpose Driven: to be pleasing to God. Whether living here or living there, that one thing alone mattered.

Then there was this “ambition” he fostered, and recommended to other believers:

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands.
1 Thessalonians 4:11

No histrionics. No drama. No magnificence. No glory. Just a quiet life. This is somewhat oxy-moronic, don’t you think? Ambition, we’d imagine, is the drive to become bigger, fatter, faster, richer, and reputed—all far from “leading a quiet life.” But there it is: Paul’s ambition.

And the third:

I had the ambition to preach the gospel …
Romans 15:20

Yup, preaching! Well, essentially this is heralding the good news, passing on the gospel of salvation in Christ and the consummation of all things in Christ—God’s Grand Plan.

Those are the ambitions, the Purpose by which we need to be Driven: Pleasing to God, peacefulness in life, and preaching the good news.

Go and live long!

SOURCES: Study Finds, Preventive Medicine