A More Meaningful Pursuit
by
Keith Hoffman
I grew up in the country, and spent countless hours as a
child watching the daily routines of farm animals. I often wondered what they
were thinking as the hours breezed by. While I never mastered their language,
I am convinced that the simple-minded animals I observed never concerned
themselves with the meaning of life. They did whatever brought them pleasure.
Instinctively, we know that we are different from
animals, yet I often find myself living life with the same motivation as those
chickens and pigs. Is this our purpose for living, or is there a greater
meaning ordained for human life?
The search for purpose is an old one. Rather than
repeating the investigation on my own, I decided to turn to the experts. I
discovered profuse reference materials. Scholars over the centuries have
devoted their lives and filled libraries probing the issue. As a result, I was
extremely selective, and considered only the very best sources. After careful
evaluation, I determined that a man named Solomon conducted the finest work in
the field. Although he performed his landmark investigation over three
thousand years ago, his study remains the premier reference work available on
the subject today.
A project of this magnitude requires enormous funding,
top scholars, and dogged determination. Solomon’s work is exemplary on every
count. Consider his qualifications: Solomon had virtually unlimited resources,
God certified him as the wisest man that will ever live, and he personally
applied himself to the task with unequalled vigor. His research is uniquely
qualified.
I admire Solomon’s work, because he clearly did not set
out to prove a preconceived notion, as we often find in studies of this
nature. He performed pure research, and was not beholden to anyone that would
taint his findings.
In spite of his qualifications, breakthroughs did not
come quickly. Learning came through repeated failures, rather than incremental
success. I have seen similar progress in the research of Thomas Edison. In his
quest to develop the electric light, he spent hours preparing each experiment.
Nevertheless, the filaments were consumed after producing light for only a few
moments. After testing hundreds and hundreds of materials in his search for
one that would provide adequate service, he did not become discouraged. He
found great value in eliminating with certainty a plethora of materials that
would not work. Although Edison received accolades for his determination,
Solomon actually pioneered this approach.
Solomon was a fanatic, and carried the pursuit of wine,
women, and song to new heights. He proposed that sex was the answer, and
conducted research with no less than 1,000 subjects. He advanced the theorem
of wealth, and made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem. He supposed
education was the key, and commissioned the world’s top PhD’s in every field
as private tutors. Solomon researched the effects of power and position by
marrying into royalty 700 times on his way to becoming the most admired king
in the world.
Undaunted, he broadened the scope of possible
determinates. He pursued the arts. He became an author and song write. He
included the alternative approaches of madness and folly. In short, he pursued
every conceivable factor on a larger and grander scale than anyone else in the
field. In the end, his conclusion was clear and conclusive: it all was
meaningless.
Solomon spent immeasurable resources in his search for
purpose, and everything that he tried failed. Was it all a waste of time?
Absolutely not! Solomon performed a great service for us. His findings
eliminate with great certainty many axioms currently held with esteem. His
research portrays, with an unmatched degree of certainty, what does not work.
We do not have to go there.
In an epilog of his work, Solomon pronounces the world
has nothing large enough to fill our intended objective. We are designed for
an eternal purpose, but nothing on earth lasts forever. We are eternal beings
bounded in a finite mind. The tension of this union produces dissatisfaction
with temporal things, yet our mind’s inability to fathom the eternal restrains
us from the solution without faith.
The abstract of Solomon’s dissertation provides startling
insight into this paradox. When we pursue things that seem to promise instant
satisfaction, we fail to find meaning. When we live life with an eternal
perspective, we find meaning and purpose in the present. He brilliantly
summarizes a lifetime of research into one sentence, “Fear God and keep His
commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13b).
Are you formulating a study in the field of purpose? Take
a tip from my survey – the definitive work has already been commissioned. The
expansive work of Solomon transcends the misguided, poorly designed, and
under-funded bit of research that I had envisioned. My project was doomed for
failure. I have decided to involve myself in a more meaningful pursuit.
Copyright © 2002 by Keith Hoffman
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