When I was in primary school, I distinctly remember a dinner lady – who I also knew as the School’s lollipop lady – being assigned to supervise our classroom during lunch time. As we ate a packed lunch, we had that in the classroom as opposed to those in the cafeteria who opted for a warm, cooked meal. She decided to ignite some conversation amongst us, and went around one by one asking everyone what they wanted to be when they were older. Many serious answers were floated. There was a bit of banter as well. I remember one pupil saying he hoped to become a lawyer so he could sue another pupil – one of his mates. I reckon my answer then was to become a games’ designer. I had been playing around on scratch.mit.edu at the time. Interestingly enough, I didn’t miss the mark too much with me pursuing a career related to computers. Back then, it wasn’t a common ambition among my peers- now a lot has changed!
Throughout my life I had just thought “Programming – that’s what I am going to do!” and I didn’t really question it. I do have other interests and other things I could have enjoyed. Sometimes I wonder if I should have maybe re-thought my decades long ambition. But realistically, worrying about such things isn’t productive – I am in a good place now. Worrying about such things isn’t necessarily the meaning of life. So is my career the meaning of life? By no means!
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.Matthew 6:31-32
If you were to die on a Wednesday, your job would be advertised by the following Monday. So spending too much time devoted to your career is not the meaning of life. Sure, a career is a wholesome and good thing to have – it can be used to help sustain yourself and loved ones, whether it be family or friends. But it’s merely a means to an end – not an end in itself.
Another alternative could be leaving a lasting legacy, and a legacy is good and well, but a legacy is what’s left after you die. Could that really be the meaning of your life if it’s only realised after your life has been extinguished? A legacy could only last so long. You’ll be forgotten by the time that the sun explodes. If that is the case then, what is meaning? Nothing could really significantly matter if it’s temporary. But if nothing has any meaning, then why do we strive for it? Why do we obey rules if nothing truly matters? Why do we do good? If everything is temporary and there is no meaning, outside of gut feeling, how do we objectively identify what is good and what is wrong?
I don’t know what conclusion this leads you to – but for me, I cannot simply settle or fathom that morality, life, and everything is subjective and meaningless. I don’t believe such a conclusion is even logical. Since morality is an objective reality, you can be moral without believing in it, but you certainly cannot have morality.
Life – something so meaningful is often cruelly extinguished. In this world we often see wars, conflicts, and crackdowns. Whether it is one person senselessly killed, or thousands, we know that it is wrong. And quite often we contribute towards this system by doing wrong ourselves. Whether it be a white lie, stealing someone, or cheating someone out of something, we contribute to the messed up situation of the world – one that is clearly built off of greed and hatred for one and other. No one can say that they are truly righteous.
So, what do these moral conclusions leave us with, that we are doomed? I don’t think so, because then you have to introduce a Perfect God into the picture.
One that is Perfectly Loving, but also Perfectly Just and Perfectly Merciful. Wouldn’t all of these things lead to a contradiction? What if this God would absorb the Justice onto Himself? That would fix this supposed paradox. But then – how could a Supreme God bear this justice, if designed for man? Couldn’t this paradox be fixed by this God becoming incarnate as a man, and bearing it Himself?. This is a path of logic that I was led down after the turn of the decade. There is more to it which convinced me – such as archaeological and historical evidence. But here, I was prompted on The Meaning of Life and this is my answer and reasoning to that prompt.
If it is well made and to the point, that is what I myself desired; I pray that it is a blessing to you. If it is poorly done and mediocre, that was the best I could do. But regardless, here answers what I believe to be the meaning of life:
Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1947)