Sermon Tone Analysis

Main Points

1) All of us crave purpose

2) Our purpose comes from our design

3) Living our design brings freedom

The

Main Points

1) All of us crave purpose

Ecc 3:9-

2) Our purpose comes from our design

Ecc

3) Living our design brings freedom

Romans 6:

Col

1) All of us crave purpose

In a simple but profound article published in Psychology Today, Steve Taylor Ph.D and senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University penned these words:

The Power of Purpose

Why is a sense of purpose so essential for our well-being?

Posted Jul 21, 2013

The need for purpose is one of the defining characteristics of human beings.

Human beings crave purpose, and suffer serious psychological difficulties when we don’t have it.

Purpose is a fundamental component of a fulfilling life.

In recent weeks, newspapers in the UK have featured stories about a famous ex-professional soccer player, Paul Gasgoine, who has been struggling with alcoholism.

‘Gazza’ - as he is known affectionately - was the most famous sportsman of his generation, in the 1990s.

However, since the end of his career, he has been in and out of rehab, arrested for assaulting his wife, and - in the most recent headlines - found staggering through the lobby of a hotel, asking strangers to buy him a drink.

One of his ex-teammates, Gary Lineker - now a successful broadcaster - suggested recently that his real problem was that, whereas he found a new role in the media, Gazza had never found a new purpose in his life, to replace his football career.

‘Hopefully he can find some sort of goal,’ said Lineker.

‘He needs a reason to want to get better.’

This is a good example what can happen when we don’t have a sense of purpose in our lives.

It makes us more vulnerable to boredom, anxiety and depression.

And particularly if we have an addictive personality (like Gazza) it can make us vulnerable to substance abuse.

Alcohol or drugs are, of course, a way of alleviating psychological discord, but at the same time they can be seen as a way of gaining a very basic sense of purpose: to satisfy your addiction.

On the other hand, having a strong sense of purpose can have a powerful positive effect.

When you have a sense of purpose, you never get up in the morning wondering what you’re going to do with yourself.

When you’re ‘in purpose’ - that is, engaged with and working towards your purpose - life becomes easier, less complicated and stressful.

You become more mono-focussed, like an arrow flying towards its target, and your mind feels somehow taut and strong, with less space for negativity to seep in.

A powerful example of this comes from Victor Frankl’s famous book, Man’s Search for Meaning, in which he describes his experiences in concentration camps during the Second World War.

Frankl observed that the inmates who were most likely to survival were those who felt they had a goal or purpose.

Frankl himself spend a lot of time trying to reconstruct a manuscript he had lost on his journey to the camp - his life’s work.

Others held on to a vision of their future - seeing their loved ones again or a major task to complete once they were free.

At the end of the movie I, Robot (2004), the robot named Sonny has fulfilled the objectives in his design program.

But now he realizes he no longer has a purpose.

The movie concludes with a dialogue between Sonny and the other main character, Detective Spooner.

Sonny: Now that I have fulfilled my purpose, I don’t know what to do.

At the end of the movie I, Robot (2004), the robot named Sonny has fulfilled the objectives in his design program.

But now he realizes he no longer has a purpose.

The movie concludes with a dialogue between Sonny and the other main character, Detective Spooner.

Sonny: Now that I have fulfilled my purpose, I don’t know what to do.

Detective Spooner: I guess you’ll have to find your way like the rest of us, Sonny … That’s what it means to be free.