The Search for a Purpose

SINCE the time of Charles Darwin, there has been enormous pressure from biologists to accept the theory that life, as a result of evolution, is basically purposeless. However, many instinctively reject this. A young married couple, looking at their beautiful newborn baby, would have difficulty believing that this new life is purposeless. To them, it is a miracle, a life-​enriching wonder.

Even some scientists do not agree that life is a meaningless accident. Why not? Because of what The Encyclopedia Americana calls “the extraordinary degree of complexity and of organization in living creatures.” The Americana goes on to say: “A close examination of flowers, insects, or mammals shows an almost incredibly precise arrangement of parts.”

Considering such complexity and beautiful organization​—which is seen in even the simplest of living creatures—​South African scientist Dr. Louw Alberts was quoted in the Cape Times as saying: “I get more intellectual satisfaction in accepting there is a God than merely accepting that it [life] happened by chance.” Speaking of the chemical composition of living organisms, British astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell wrote: “The probability of . . . a chance occurrence leading to the formation of one of the smallest protein molecules is unimaginably small. . . . It is effectively zero.”

In a similar vein, astronomer Fred Hoyle wrote: “The entire structure of orthodox biology still holds that life arose at random. Yet as biochemists discover more and more about the awesome complexity of life, it is apparent that the chances of it originating by accident are so minute that they can be completely ruled out. Life cannot have arisen by chance.”

What does this mean? If life did not come about by accident, it must have come by design. And if so, it must have had a Designer. And what a Designer! The psalmist rightly said: “In a fear-​inspiring way I am wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14) But what does this tell us about whether life has a purpose or not?

Well, humans also design and make things. They make jet airplanes. They make oil refineries. They make electric power plants. And they make a myriad of other things of greater or lesser complexity. But humans do not design and build such complicated things without a reason. Everything is made with a purpose in mind.

Since nothing that humans have made even comes close to matching the awesome complexity of living things, surely the Designer of life would not have created life without having some purpose for it. It is the height of unreason to believe that we were “wonderfully made” and then left rudderless and without purpose.

The Search for Purpose

That the Creator created humans to fulfill a purpose is also strongly supported by the fact that we humans instinctively seek a purpose in our lives. Gilbert Brim, a psychologist, spoke about man’s instinctive need for purpose when he said: “Many people find growth and challenge in the workplace. But those who cannot will search for special challenges and achievement elsewhere: losing weight, mastering the six-​iron shot on a downhill lie, making the perfect omelet or seeking adventures​—whether it’s hang gliding or experimenting with new foods.” Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl even claimed: “The striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man.”

Let us examine some of the goals that people set for themselves in life.

What Gives Life Purpose?

One young teenager, when asked about her purpose in life, said: “My dream is just to have a nice condo, a nice car, and a nice guy for the car. I’m out for myself. I’m a me person. I want what’s going to make me happy, not what’s going to make the whole society happy.” If you think that sounds selfish, you are right. It is. Unhappily, though, it is not an uncommon attitude.

Yet, does simply pursuing material things and pleasures satisfy the need to have meaning in one’s life? No. When pleasure is our only objective, pleasure is unsatisfying. Individuals who make it their main goal in life usually end up echoing in their hearts the sentiment of a wealthy king of ancient times who used his power and wealth to explore various aspects of pleasure available back then. Listen to the conclusion he came to:

“I accumulated also silver and gold for myself, and property peculiar to kings and the jurisdictional districts. I made male singers and female singers for myself and the exquisite delights of the sons of mankind, a lady, even ladies. . . . And, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind.”​—Ecclesiastes 2:8, 11.

Many find satisfaction in a career or in using their mental or physical strength to achieve what seem to be worthwhile objectives. After a while, though, a career does not entirely satisfy the need to have a purpose in life. Peter Lynch, described as an “investment superstar,” gave up his lucrative career when he realized that something was seriously missing in his life. What? His relationship with his family. He confessed: “I loved what I was doing, but I came to a conclusion, and so did some others: What . . . are we doing this for? I don’t know anyone who wished on his deathbed that he had spent more time at the office.”

Hence, a teenage girl showed a measure of balance when she considered her goals in life and said: “One of my dreams is to have a career. But I think my main dream is to have a happy family.” Yes, our family can give meaning and purpose to life. A young married woman said: “Very early in my life I saw being a parent as one of the things that one was born to do, one of the purposes of life, and I never questioned it.”

Others look for a purpose in life in other pursuits. Some​—likely including those scientists who claim that life is a meaningless accident—​find a purpose in the pursuit of knowledge. Evolutionist Michael Ruse wrote: “We have a thirst to know, and this raises us above the brutes. . . . Among our greatest needs and duties is that of passing on, to our children, the accumulated wisdom of the past, together with our zest and our achievements. . . . The quest for knowledge, and the successes, make for one of the great marks of the human spirit.”

Some find that serving a cause gives purpose to their lives. They work for the preservation of rare animal species. Or they fight pollution and the destruction of the environment. Caring people champion the rights of children or work for the homeless or the poor. Or they labor to prevent the spread of drug addiction. Such individuals sometimes accomplish much good, and what they do enriches their lives with purpose.

Frustrations and Disappointments

We have to acknowledge, though, that humans are often frustrated in their pursuit of goals even if the goals are worthy ones. Parents who put much love and effort into raising their children sometimes lose them to accidents, crime, sickness, or drug addiction. Or when the children grow up, they may get infected by the selfish spirit of this world and fail to return their parents’ love.

Those who work selflessly to improve the environment are often frustrated by commercial interests or by the fact that others just do not care. Those working for the betterment of the poor are overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. An individual who finds his career fulfilling is frustrated when he is forcibly retired. A researcher who finds the pursuit of knowledge completely satisfying is frustrated when his life draws near its end and there are still so many unanswered questions. A man who has spent his life building a fortune finds that, eventually, he has to leave it to others.

The ancient king who was quoted earlier described some of these frustrations when he wrote: “I came to hate all my labour and toil here under the sun, since I should have to leave its fruits to my successor. What sort of a man will he be who succeeds me, who inherits what others have acquired? Who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master of all the fruits of my labour and skill.”​—Ecclesiastes 2:18, 19, The New English Bible.

Is life ultimately without purpose, then, as these oh-​so-​true words seem to imply? Are the various goals that humans pursue merely a help to get them through the 70, 80, or 90 years of life that many are granted? Beyond that, are these goals basically meaningless? No. In fact, they indicate something very profound about the way we were made, and they provide evidence that life does, indeed, have a very wonderful purpose. But how can we find this purpose?

[Pictures on page 7]

Some find that the pursuit of knowledge gives meaning and purpose to their lives

Humans do not build complicated things without having a purpose in mind

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NASA photo