Buongiorno a tutti gli miei amici. No, the previous sentence is not a typo. It actually is the phrase, “Good morning to all my friends,” in Italian. I figured that I would mix it up a little bit today. Oh, for those of you that can’t pronounce the words, don’t worry. The rest of this posting will be in English. Enjoy.
Many moons ago, while I was engaged in a heavy discussion with several friends about purpose, I was asked a very interesting question. While I may have developed a slightly more in depth understanding of the topic, I often assume that my audience understands such concepts at the same level. So, with a confused look on his face, a young man interrupted saying, “Chris, all of this sounds good; but what does it mean?” In other words, this young man was asking for clarification. The concept of everyone and everything being created with a purpose…check. He had that one down. But what did that mean to his life? And if HE needed clarification on the additional concepts of purpose, I am sure that approximately 65% of the others that were present in the group did also. And I am sure, that some of you do as well.
Several years ago, after listening to me teach, a close friend of mine enthusiastically gave me the title of griot. A griot is a term used in western African culture to describe someone that teaches through stories, poems, dances, etc. And as I think about it, she was correct. I often use stories to teach lessons and concepts to others, as I feel that there are often many lessons that we can take from them. Therefore, in the discussion of purpose I often refer to the story of Pinocchio.
Carved from a piece of wood, Pinocchio was created as a wooden puppet to be used to entertain children and to serve his creator, the great toymaker, Gepetto. While he was designed as a wooden puppet for entertainment, Pinocchio had strong desires and dreams to be a real boy. And as he leaves his father and goes into the world to prove his worthiness of becoming a real boy, he encounters several adventures and problems.
In this brief summation of the fictional tale, there are several lessons about purpose that we can learn:
1) Your desires and dreams may not be aligned with your designed purpose.
While Pinocchio had his own desires of being a real boy, his designed purpose was as a wooden puppet. Sometimes, there are things that we want. Yes, we have desires. However, in many instances those wants and desires are not aligned with our designed purposes; and sometimes, they directly contradict the purposes for which we have been designed.
2) You can only know your purpose by asking your Creator.
Pinocchio’s creator was the toymaker Gepetto. This being the case, Gepetto was the only person with the capabilities and the authority of informing Pinocchio of his purpose. You cannot obtain your purpose from anyone other than the One that has created you.
3) Most of our problems take place when their is a disconnect from our Creator.
As Pinocchio continuously separates from his father, Gepetto, he encounters many problems.
In our lives, we must connect with our Creator to determine our purpose. However, as we continue to seek our own desires, we often get disconnected from our Father, often putting us in situations that we would not otherwise be in. The difference between Pinocchio and many of us is that when we often go through troubles, we tend to place the blame on God.
“Well I know that God won’t put more on me than I can bear.”
“If it’s the Lord’s will, then I guess I just have to go through…”
But what we often dismiss as God’s doing is in fact the consequences of our own actions and decisions. It merely becomes the repercussions that we may suffer for not being aligned with our purpose.
I sincerely hope that this clarifies a few things. As we continue to move forward, we will explore the concept of purpose a little further.
Thank you. And continue to strive toward your purpose. In the original language of Pinocchio, “Arrivederci.”
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