Purpose and its opponents

Have you ever asked yourself questions that sound like this: "Why should I take the course, start the business or write the book when a million people have already done it?" Truthfully speaking those are valid questions but that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been called to that area of purpose. Does it really matter how many people have done it and is purpose even unique to each individual? What do you think? I think yes and no. Let's explore both.

I'll start with no. I don’t believe that individuals necessarily have a unique purpose because different people can be called to do the same thing. Instead, what makes it unique is the fact that the person executing it is different. So although several individuals may have the same purpose, they would all not execute it in the same way. The scope, depth and breadth of that purpose that each would cover would also vary. For example, all doctors heal people and utilise the gift of compassion and empathy in one way or another. This is the central purpose. However although all are called to such, the dimensions (i.e. the type of doctor), scope and sphere (i.e. where their role extends to e.g. the hospital, wider community, worldwide etc) of that central purpose that each doctor covers would differ. This is what would make each doctor’s purpose unique.

Would an aspiring pilot say there’s no point in training as a pilot because there are already several other pilots flying planes, even though they believe this to be their calling in life? This is similar to what we’re saying when we choose not to walk in purpose because we feel like there’s no point since someone else is already ‘fulfilling’ that purpose.

You see, even when individuals share the same purpose, each person represents a certain 'context' to a specific target population who would only be drawn to that type of person because of their 'shared context' whether that be race, gender, age or similar life experiences. Moreover, the same purpose can also be inspired by different burdens which then influence how each person delivers that purpose. All of these things again, contribute to making every individual’s purpose unique. In other words, someone needs you to start that business, write that book or take that course to become that chef, journalist or psychologist…even though a million people have already done so! Yes, there is value in your version of that purpose because you are a vessel of value!

I explained all this in such detail to help answer the questions we started with and to emphasise that it doesn’t necessarily matter how many people have ‘done it’. With this understanding, someone might still ask: “but what if I can't do it as well or as big as so and so who is the “standard” in the field of my purpose?” Do it the way you can, that's the whole point remember. There is a value that you offer that is unique because you're different to those who may have already done it. They might have done it so big that there were little details that were overlooked, that's where you come in or you may be an improvement to what has already been done so their commendable contributions don’t fade out. This is where again we see that the scope, breadth and depth may be different. Let's say you are an aspiring leader for example, would you believe that because you are not as eloquent as Dr Myles Munroe of blessed memory (who was considered to be a tremendous leader by many), you can never achieve the things he did, or perhaps you consider yourself eloquent “enough” but not yet as well-known as he was, would you then give up trying because your outputs don’t match his?

“I believe the instruction that God gives each person with regards to their assignment is the “standard”, but the nuance is that we look to people with admirable track records, to triangulate what we're doing and challenge ourselves to do better, fill in gaps that they can't cover or didn't notice or even continue with the good work they're already doing, so more people can be reached.

Okay…now that we know all this, what do we do moving forward? I share some tips as takeaway points but the crux of the matter is this: If we've heard the call of purpose, we should trust God for the courage to answer it and I believe that as we do and remain faithful with the little things, our strength would be multiplied. If we’re looking for reasons to not pursue our respective callings, life would present us with many. The questions that were addressed above are some of those reasons. They are examples of the opponents that come along when we’re on the journey of discovering and walking in purpose. We should challenge them with superior truths whenever they show up, so we don’t take into consideration their suggestion of not trying at all or giving up as there’s no point. I'll be rooting for you from this side as I also continue to seek courage myself and may positive impact indeed be made one life at a time, the kind God had in mind when he created us all.

Take-home points:

We should try to:

• Collaborate as required with those that have a similar purpose, instead of competing, so that the overarching purpose can be maximally fulfilled.

• Continually seek to refine our gifts and remain faithful with each part of the process.

• Confide in God, mentors and trusted allies who can build us up when struggling with negative emotions like discouragement

• Remain humble during the harvest season and always ensure that our intentions are pure by reminding ourselves of the original intent for that purpose.

Image Credit: Photos from unsplash by Sydney rae and Tolga Ullkan