Your Purpose In Life Is Two-fold
There are two kinds of meaning. One deals with the grand design
for human life, the essence of our existence. At a micro level,
this aspect of meaning deals with my life as a person. What
is the purpose of my life, as an individual? This is what I
have chosen to call Primary Purpose.
The other kind of meaning deals with our daily human experience.
How do we make sense out of all that happen to us – the
vast human suffering, pain, sickness, accident, delay, seemingly
unanswered prayer, rejection and abuse? However, this type of
purpose does not deal only with distressing things that happen
to us. It also affects aspects of our daily human experiences
that are good and even pleasant. For example, what meaning does
my type of work hold for me and for the society? What is the
essence of pleasure? Is there any meaning to wealth, marriage,
leadership position and opportunities, for example? This kind
of purpose, I call Secondary Purpose or Secondary Meaning.
No doubt, these are questions that plague humans irrespective
of age, color or nationality. At some point or the other, all
of us have thought about these questions. We live with them.
In what ways do primary and secondary purposes resemble each
other, and how do these two purposes differ from each other?
Too often, people tend to question the existence of a supreme
God due to their inability to understand secondary purpose.
How can there be a loving and all-powerful God if so much evil
still exist in our world? How can I believe that God loves me
if I still go through so much pain? But this kind of concern
seems to me like putting the cart before the horse. Until we
understand primary purpose, secondary meaning will likely elude
us. Because we live in a world with many uncertainties, it often
happens that we become more enamored with wanting to understand
secondary purposes, instead of searching for the primary meaning
of our lives.
Primary purpose deals with knowing who I am. Secondary purpose
deals with understanding why certain things happen to me. In
primary purpose, we understand who we are, where we came from,
where we are returning at death, what we are here on earth to
do or to be. Secondary purpose attempts to help us understand
why certain things that don’t seem to fit the description
of our primary purpose still happen to us, and what we can do
about it.
Primary purpose deals with the big picture. Secondary purpose
focuses on the individual details and seeks to align them with
the big picture. The universe is far bigger than my little world.
Primary purpose helps me understand that, as much as I am a
very important part of it all, it’s not always about me.
Primary purpose tends to be same across the entire spectrum
of human existence. Secondary purpose is mainly subjective and
specific to individuals, and gloriously so.
Primary purpose is unchanging, consistent, and eternal. Secondary
purpose reflects individual circumstances and so changes based
on the individual and the conditions. In this sense, then, primary
purpose does not change, but secondary purpose can change, and
in fact, does change at various stages of our lives.
Primary purpose is concerned with the divine intent, the supreme
goal of our being. Secondary purpose deals with plans, methods
and strategies involved in achieving the supreme goal.'For I
know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord,
thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to
give you hope in your final outcome.' God was quoted here by
Jeremiah as saying that he knows what his intention was for
Israel. But it also talked about plans ( series of sequential
tasks arranged in order to achieve the goal). God’s intention
for all mankind is the same, but how he helps each of us get
there is vastly different.
In conclusion, secondary purposes tend to become clearer once
we understand what the primary purpose is. Perhaps, the best
individual investment is in finding out, embracing and pursuing
ones primary purpose. Of course, there are no easy answers to
life, but many concerns become easier to deal with when a person
understands her primary purpose. In this way, secondary purpose
may be viewed as the personal application of primary purpose
to the daily details of human existence.
This site does not claim to have all the answers to all of
life’s difficult situations. But it does claim to help
individuals discover their primary purpose in life. When you
do, perhaps, just perhaps, it may then be possible to view life’s
complicated circumstances from an entirely new and refreshing
perspective.
If any of these writings bless you, feel free to post
a comment or share a testimony with us. Others may be blessed
by your testimony or comment. And feel free to contact us anytime.
My genuine desire is to assist you in your search for meaning
and joy.
Visit DiscoverPurpose
blog for more.
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