I just was reminiscing on my meager beginnings. My family and I didn't have a lot growing up, but what we lacked in the tangible, we made up with creativity and ingenuity. For example, I would clean out an old dish washing soap bottle, and turn it into a handy-dandy water bottle. Sometimes the rabbit ears on the television set wouldn't work, so I would take aluminum foil and shape it into an antenna, connect it to the television, and continue watching my favorite cartoon. Indeed, the items I used were not originally intended for that purpose, but I would test the boundaries to get my desired results. A few times it worked, but most of the time it failed. Years later, I can still taste that leftover dishwashing soap that I just couldn't fully clean out of that makeshift water bottle that one childhood day, yuck!
This story is a bit amusing, but it sheds some light on the notion of purpose. The bottle and the foil had a purpose for its creation. It was me that push passed the parameters of its purpose, and because of my impatient creativity, I suffered the consequences of a soapy mouth. I'm not saying that purpose stifles creativity, it is quite the opposite. Purpose actually helps us not to waste our creative energy, and teaches us how to focus it. Purpose provides parameters. The biblical story of Adam and Eve in Genesis also sheds some light about the parameters of purpose. Adam and Eve were in an eternal state of bliss in the Garden of Eden that was created for them to enjoy by God. This was their purpose: to enjoy their fellowship with God, and to enjoy each other. God placed everything that they would ever need in the garden, and gave them only one parameter as recorded in Genesis 2:17 (ESV) "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Unfortunately, Adam and Eve were beguiled by the serpent to venture passed the parameter of their purpose, and ate from the forbidden tree, which left them and mankind with more than a soapy mouth! Mankind lost it's ability to fellowship with God and each other. We lost our purpose temporarily until Jesus Christ reestablished the parameters for our purpose through His sacrificial death on the cross. So, to be purpose driven does not mean to be undisciplined or to fly by the seat of our emotions. It means to be disciplined; to perfect our gifts and talents within parameters to fully optimize our purpose. The danger lurks beyond the boundary, when we attempt to push pass the intended use of our talents to pursue dreams that do not align with our purpose. What are your thoughts? Does purpose have parameters? I would love to hear from you.
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AuthorAkon M. Walker, MPA, motivates readers to transform words of inspiration into life application. Archives
June 2019
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