Weapons of Mass Distraction

I wish I could take credit for the title of this posting but alas, it belongs to an anonymous scholar. 

I was watching a lecture series entitled, "What Matters," by Oxford scholar, Os Guinness, and he mentioned the quote. 

At one point an Oxford student was interviewed and asked, "What lies at the end of life?  How will you know if you've accomplished your purpose?  Her answer was, "I don't know. I guess if I have a lot of good stories."

Most of the students said that they really didn't have time to think about life's purpose in the long term.  Everything was focused on getting through school and moving on to a future career (whatever that may be). 

Living "in the moment" is an understandable answer, especially when one is consumed with studies and deadlines. But one must be prepared for the long view if one wants to be successful at fulfilling a life of purpose.

Honestly, there will always be an "in the moment." Your new job will consume you, email, Facebook, or Twitter. Something will distract from the larger purpose of life.  

A life of purpose is not some random or personally planned out path. It is the desire of God for your life. It matters not what subject matter one desires to study. The greater question is, "Can I glorify God in this, contribute to the betterment of humanity, and propel forward the ultimate mission of God, i.e. the reconciliation of all things toward God?

It is life with a greater purpose; a life with divine motive. 

The greatest hindrances to those objectives are the "weapons of mass distraction." The chief culprit being, "busyness."  

Someone said that "busyness" is either the result of pride or an unreasonable, unorganized employer. There is probably a bit of truth in both. Either way busyness will keep us from stopping and asking the "why, "what," or the "who" questions. "Why am I here?" "What am I supposed to be doing with my life?" "Who am I ultimately accountable to?" 

"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile" is not the way to go through life. I don't want to "hope" by chance I fulfill my purpose; I want to know that I am fulfilling my purpose. 

And yet, here I am, 52 years of age, still asking those questions. Perhaps that's the divine intent. Every year I should find the time in my busy schedule to be asking those questions of purpose for divine alignment. 

After all, I don't want to end my life with nothing more than a bunch of good stories. 

I want GREAT stories... 

Near Death Real LIfe

I had the privilege of teaching in Thailand last week. Unfortunately with my schedule I didn't have a lot of time to site see. But a dear brother picked me up after class on Friday and took me out to see a few things. 

When I arrived the first thing I thought about was how chaotic things were. Cars everywhere. Motorcycles and scooters everywhere. Very few traffic lights. I watched the cyclists weaving in and out of traffic from the safety of my shuttle van each morning and evening. Insane. 

So imagine my surprise when my dear brother picked me up...yes...on a scooter. Below is a sample of the controlled choas. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js4G2lunSEI  [Warning:  If you get motion sickness easy, please do not watch this without a bucket]

All I could think of initially was that Deb will kill me if I get killed. But the life insurance was paid up and I'm saved, so...let's go. 

There is a difference between being in the midst of something and being in something. When I was in the safety of a van I was sheltered from the reality of the chaos. But on a scooter the reality becomes apparent very quickly. I was hoping to survive the ride without breaking my kneecaps on someone's bumper or losing my shoulders to any of a hundred rear-view mirrors that we blazed by. 

Perhaps it was the adrenaline but it was the first time I felt really connected to something in a long time. I wasn't looking at the culture from inside the safety of a glass window or studying it in some book. I was doing real life with real people in their culture. I was part of something and not just an observer. 

I'm sure that there is a spiritual lesson in this somewhere but I've yet to flesh it out. Perhaps its just this: live real life.