Being a person of "purpose"

 

     I was having a great discussion the other night with a close friend of mine from Texas about my earnest desire to be a man of purpose.  With every fiber of my being I want to spend the rest of my life impacting the lives of the people around me in whatever capacity I’m able.  So many of us (me included) spent a majority of our lives pursuing comfort and security.  We worked so hard to establish our careers so that we can buy that large house, nice car (or two) and build a comfortable living for us and our families.  Then we work the rest of our lives to “maintain” what we have built—never stopping to realize that in a few short years a lot of what we invested our lives into will be forgotten and all the possessions we worked so hard for will wind up going to someone else.  This whole concept became very real to me years ago while working for a local law office.  I was contacted by a trust attorney in the Indianapolis area and on more than a few occasions his law firm hired me to help liquidate the belongings of someone that was deceased --on the behalf of their estate.  On one occasion in particular, I was retained to help a family liquidate all the remaining furniture and belonging left in their mother’s house so that they could sell the property.  I accepted the job prior to even visiting the property.  When I did eventually get to the house however—I was dumbstruck.  This house was huge and it almost looked like a museum with multiple glass displays cabinets containing collectibles throughout.  From Franklin Mint collectible plates and antique china dolls, to Lladro ceramics and Precious Moments figurines it was obvious that the deceased woman had devoted her life and passion to lovingly collecting and displaying all these beautiful pieces.  And yet, here I was on behalf of her family liquidating all of this woman’s prized possessions online.  At the final auction, as people were swooping in like ravenous vultures to get the best deal on the remaining furniture, it was kind of sad.  Although I didn’t know the deceased woman—I wondered how she would have felt to see the precious collection she worked a lifetime to accumulate-- being separated and sold to the highest bidder?  I had the exact same empty feeling in the pit of my stomach while liquidating the remains of our former business, Havilah’s boutique.  As I sold the last remaining articles from the store in an attempt to liquidate a portion of that massive business debt—it was hard seeing the contents of that business that we put so much time and effort in—being sold for pennies on the dollar.  
    It is times like that when we start to see life in perspective.  Life is short and so much of what we spend our energies pursuing is temporal.  I want to invest my life seeking things of eternal significance.  When all is said and done—nobody will remember how big our house was or how cool of a car we drove.  They won’t remember our impressive resume or how much we accomplished in our given career field.  What people will remember is how much we loved those around us.  Live a life of significance and purpose by loving your neighbor, it’s that easy.

Matthew 6:19-21 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust does corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”