What’s the Use, Anyway? What’s OUR Use?

Looking into our silverware drawer the other day, I noticed something: The spoons, forks and knives weren’t laying in their respective sections asking, “What is my purpose?” “Am I of any use?” “What’s the meaning of being a utensil?” 

There are two reasons for that. First, of course, they’re inanimate; inanimate things don’t talk – or think. (Unless they’re performing in a “Beauty and the Beast” movie where the cups, saucers and candlesticks all prance around and talk with abandon.) Secondly, it’s because the person who picks them up is the one who determines their purpose, use, and meaning.

For example, someone decides the immediate use of a spoon is for eating a bowl of cereal or ice cream, or for stirring creamer into a cup of coffee. The user determines the purpose, not the spoon. The same could be said about forks, knives, spatulas, ladles, etc.

It seems we spend an inordinate amount of time wondering such things of ourselves. We tend to ponder imponderables like: Why am I here? What’s the meaning of life? Or the penetrating question a cinematic theme song of decades ago asked, “What’s it all about, Alfie?”

Not that there’s anything wrong with thinking about these deep matters. We’d all like to believe we’re here for a good reason, that we’re not cosmic accidents lacking purpose or plan. But if our trust is in God, His wisdom and sovereignty, maybe it’s not healthy getting into a mental tangle over this.

Reading recently from my favorite devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest, author Oswald Chambers suggested, “We should quit asking ourselves, ‘Am I of any use?’ and accept the truth that we really are not of much use to [God]. The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time.”

When we first read this, it can sound somewhat demeaning. What does Chambers mean, “we really are not of much use to God”? But the Lord’s work proceeded quite well for countless years before we arrived on the scene, and His work will continue long after we’re gone. So as much as it pains us to admit, we’re not indispensable.

At the same time, we are privileged to know that God can and will use us. In Jeremiah 29:11, He declares, “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

Earlier in the same book God says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). It’s amazing to consider that even before he became a gleam in his mother’s eyes, the prophet Jeremiah had been chosen by God for a very special work.

Most of us haven’t been selected to serve as prophets, or preachers, or foreign missionaries, but as followers of Jesus Christ we can have the assurance that He does have a very special role for us – a calling we each have been created uniquely to fulfill.  

As the apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians asserts, “But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it…. Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed [people with different gifts]….” (1 Corinthians 12:24-28). 

Just as each fork, spoon and knife in our kitchen drawer can provide very useful service according to our wishes, each of us can rejoice that when and as needed, God “will work through us all the time,” as Chambers wrote. So with joy, as Paul exhorted believers in ancient Rome, we can “offer [ourselves] to God…and offer the parts of [our] body to him as instruments of righteousness” (Romans 6:11-13).

The Meaning – and Purpose – of Life

“What is the meaning of life?” If there’s a more profound, more perplexing question, I haven’t heard it. Everyone has an opinion about it, but it’s difficult to find a consensus on an answer. How would you respond?

Simplistic thinkers might react with something like, “To have a good time, man!” Or reply, ”Just to get through the day.” But neither really addresses the quintessential meaning of life. Shouldn’t life, its meaning and purpose be more than merely existing, or enjoying some fleeting, sensory thrills?

More seriously considered ideas have been suggested, but one I came across recently caught my attention: "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." It’s uncertain who originated this view. It has been attributed to both William Shakespeare and Pablo Picasso the artist. Regardless of who said it first, it’s worth considering.

One clarification: With Christmas fast approaching, “Will” and/or Pablo weren’t referring to gifts we find under the tree on Dec. 25. They were thinking about innate talents, skills and passions, the things that inspire and motivate us – and in the process, fill our lives with meaning and purpose.

Even proficiency at climbing and 
cutting trees can be a gift 
to offer others.

I don’t fully concur with the assertion, because I’m in agreement with the Westminster Shorter Catechism which states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” If we believe God created us and has a unique plan for each of our lives, that’s supplies ample meaning and purpose. But recognizing our gifts – innate talents, skills and passions – and then determining to use them productively, also can go a long way in giving meaning and purpose to our everyday lives.

The apostle Paul seemed to concur, presenting this advice to Timothy, his younger protégé: “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands…. He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:6-9).

In Timothy’s case, the gift involved channeling his faith into pastoral ministry. Paul exhorted him to “fan it into flame” so others would receive full benefit from it. Most of us aren’t called to preach, or to engage in pastoral ministry. But like Timothy, as stewards of the gifts, passions and callings God has provided, we’re urged to fan those into flame as well.

The Bible speaks specifically about spiritual gifts such as leadership, teaching, prophecy, mercy, service, encouragement, and others. But thinking in terms of recognizing our gift and then giving it away, as the Shakespeare/Picasso quote proposes, we can broaden the meaning to those things we’re especially good at that can be used to enhance the lives of others.

For some, this is teaching. As I’ve written before, the impact a gifted, dedicated teacher can have is immeasurable. I marvel too at those who have a special affinity for certain groups of people, whether they be small children, the disabled, the elderly and infirm, or those who demonstrate compassion and selfless care to those suffering with severe, often terminal illnesses.

Just the other day we had a couple of guys come out and cut down a couple of troublesome trees in our yard. Watching them clamber across those limbs, sometimes swaying in the wind, amazed me. When I asked one, “Are you having fun yet?” he replied, “If I wasn’t having fun, I wouldn’t be up here!” That, I believe, is the definition of a person who has found his gift.

For me, recognizing my gift – a love and facility for working with words – has resulted in a very fulfilling career as a writer and editor. There might be some who disagree, but I would like to think my work as an editor of newspapers and magazines, journalist, book writer/editor, devotional writer and blogger has been of benefit for some who have read my work.

My love for photography also has enabled me to capture the wonders of God’s creation, whether in nature, things people have fashioned with the creativity the Lord has infused into them, and the people themselves. And I’ve been able to share this with family members and friends.

That’s why years ago I adopted Psalm 45:1 as my “career verse.” It states, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme, I recite my composition concerning the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” It’s even served as the basis for my one-person writing and editing enterprise, ReadyWriter Ink.

Are you still trying to figure out the meaning and purpose of your life? If not, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start by finding your gift – and then resolving to give it away.