Articles
A Sense of Purpose
A Harvard study on mental health from late 2022 revealed some interesting feedback from young adults. In an article entitled, “On Edge: Understanding and Preventing Young Adults’ Mental Health Challenges,” research showed that:
Ø 36% of young adults said they struggle with anxiety, compared to 18% of teens.
Ø 29% said they experience depression, compared to 15% of teens.
Ø 45% reported “a sense that things are falling apart.”
Ø 44% said a lack of meaningful relationships was a key driver of their depression and loneliness was a factor for 34%.
Ø 58% of respondents said the most common element of their depression and/or anxiety was lack of meaning or purpose.
Ø 50% of young adults lamented “not knowing what to do with my life.”
Richard Weissbourd, lead author of the report, commented, “Far too many young adults told us that they feel on edge, lonely and directionless … they worry about financial security. Many are ‘achieving to achieve’ and find little meaning in either school or work.” (Melissa Rudy, Fox News Online, 10/31/23)
We could examine the potential causes of such emotional ill-health – social media, Covid hangovers, economic inflation, political instability, global conflict, environmental doomsday scenarios, etc. – but that is not the purpose of this article. Rather, the focus must be on the ultimate answer to all causes of emptiness, aimlessness, anxiety and depression that we may experience in this life – harmony with our Creator and conformity to His revealed word.
I suspect the Christian and the humanist would have polar opposite reactions to the data in the research above. Those well-versed in Scripture probably read such articles thinking, “I know where to find the answers for such emotional instability.” The humanist, however, might respond, “I don’t know how to resolve such issues, but the Bible and religion are not the answer.” In fact, under the heading of “Strategies for Improvement” in the article God and the Bible were nowhere mentioned (shocking, isn’t it?). Rather, the strategies included “placing a greater emphasis on fostering relationships, volunteering, caring for others, and joining clubs or causes.” It is ironic that those with an anti-Bible bias will resort to Biblical principles without even realizing what they are doing. But, of course, such strategies coming from modern psychologists are free-floating, unattached to the very basis of what makes them meaningful in the first place.
But a third category includes believers who know God but either don’t rely on Him for practical help or don’t effectively use His resources to navigate the challenges of life. It is distressing to see young people who ought to be excited about life, motivated by the unparalleled opportunities of Western living and accessing unlimited stores of knowledge and yet are discouraged and disconnected – especially when they have been conditioned to think that spiritual guidance is just so much poppycock. But how well are we Christians doing in teaching our own young to depend upon God as the bedrock reality on which everything else rests?
Our sense of purpose is not found in being famous, making our mark in the world and investing in that which has only temporary existence. This is the big lie so many believe and pursue, and when it is tried and found wanting the emptiness of it becomes apparent. On the contrary, our sense of purpose is found in honoring the God who made us.
“Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecc 12:13). This passage has two buzzwords that are off-putting to the modern mind: fear and duty. Consider the Good News Translation of the latter phrase: “For this is all that we were created for.” Our very purpose of existence is connected to our Maker, and it is in our conformity to His will and character that we will discover why we are here. This is not a trivial question; it is both universal and weighty. But it cannot be answered by looking within ourselves, to our feelings, worldly ambitions and achievements or hedonistic pleasures. Solomon had already examined such things to the fullest and concluded that “all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (Ecc 2:11; cf. 2:15-26). Earthly treasures and triumphs are tainted with ultimate meaninglessness. They are destined to be surpassed by others, or are unappreciated by our peers, or hasten our downfall through pride and overconfidence. Many a successful athlete, warrior, hero and businessman have asked in their moment of glory, “Is this all there is?”
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor 6:19-20). A key tenet of Christianity, but which grows out of bygone Scripture, is that our life is not our own. That truth is anathema to the arrogant modern mind. Many take great umbrage at such a thought, for they are convinced that political and spiritual free will give them the absolute right of self-determination. But not only does God reveal that the very life we have is given by Him; further, we will be called into account for how we lived it and who or what we glorified in that living: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body … whether good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10). Again, the big lie is that our life is our to do with as we please, but to live by that mantra produces emptiness.
The “strategies” recommended in the article – relationships, helping others, etc. – are meaningless if divorced from the ultimate purpose in doing those things. The question which flummoxes the humanist/naturalist is, “Why?” Why should I help others? Why should relationships matter? All evolution can offer is that such enables the human species to survive. But survive unto what?! What future? What fate? Eventual planetary destruction when our sun dies? The answer, in Paul’s words: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim 4:8).
