Made With Clay But Created for a Purpose

Not the What, but the Why | by Greg Rolfe

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. . . . So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love" 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.

The thought of "why am I here?" is very prevalent. So prevalent as to be the foundation to many books and philosophies. The desire to be relevant or impacting, the desire to be the hero appears to be a core desire of most people. And to find this purpose mankind has gone to great lengths to stand out. But what if that is all wrong? What if it is not the what we do but the why we do it?

King Solomon built and designed and developed, he married and fathered and went to every extreme but felt empty. His lasting impression was tragedy not success. For all his great wealth and attempts at fulfillment he failed to accomplish what he most desired. He failed to find the "why." Still today we search and strive to make our mark in the world to be the shining star. Regardless of our career it appears to be the driving force behind most men and women. Could it be the reason we fail to find the "why" is because it is not a what but actually a why?

People are not all created the same, but they were created equal. In a feat of strength it is obvious we are not all the same. In a contest of intelligence it is very clear we are not all the same. Some people are very good at business and some are not. But we are all equal. How? Purpose. 

The why we act is what makes us great. The why we do whatever we choose to do is what sets us apart. 1 Corinthians 13 gives us the clue, without love all is worthless. Love is the why. Compassion is the why. Helping improve another's day is the why. These motivations, these "whys," are what make us matter, they are the why we are here. 

We are each made of clay designed to do certain tasks, but the why we are here is to live out love. The motive for what you do is vastly more important than what you do. Excel at both.

Copyright 2014 Greg Rolfe

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