Meaning of Life Part II

So,

I have gotten a bit distracted from Calvin at the moment.
But I worked out the meaning of life the other day and I thought I should share it now just in case I snuffed it.
But then I got distracted, and had some more thoughts. This is actually the more thoguhts, but I thought I should give a quick recap on the meaning of life first, just in case. I will write up a full version later. You can email me if you are desperate to know how I came to this conclusion. But really, it is one of those things that is pretty obvious once somebody has said it...

Short short version:
What do you want to be? (Not what method do you want to use, like rich, powerful etc...what actual goal are you trying to achieve?)

I want to be happy. And justified in being happy.

Who is the happiest person you know, who has good reason to be pleased with himself?

God.

Answer:
The meaning of life is to be like God.

Expansion:
How?
Well, can't replicate the power of God.
But I can develop the moral character of God and Wisdom of God within myself.

More how?
Well, God is spirit, and we are flesh, so He is a hard example to follow. But Jesus was God made flesh, so is the visible image of the invisible God. So if you want to know what God would be like if He lived your life in your body, try being like Jesus.

Circle completion: (All good ideas should complete a loop back to something you already know to be true. It is how you test them. It is the opposite of a reductio ad absurdum- instead of reducing the idea to an absurdity, you reduce it back to an obvious truth.)
If you want to be happy, try being like God because God is eternally perfectly happy. What would God do if he were human? He would act like Jesus. So to be eternally perfectly happy, ask yourself, what would Jesus do? WWJD?
So, allow God to conform you to the likeness of His Son.

Proof texts for those of you who don't know your bible well enough to have picked them in the body of the text...

Rom 8: 29 - For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Colossians 1:15 - He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all of creation.

I don't have a single verse to prove God is happy, but if He isn't, give up, cause you aint going to make it!

Slightly longer version:

We cannot and should not attempt to replicate the power of God, becaue to a sinful nature, power corrupts. Instead we should practice the moral nature and wisdom of God, and I believe God will complete the work in us in heaven so we can be like Him. The reason why the meaning of life is to be like God is that God is the blessed God, eternally happy, eternally self satisfied, able to deal with grief, eternally pleased with himself and the work of his hands, and his relationship within the trinity, and all rightly so. If we can replicate even a pale shadow of the character of God, we will enjoy being us more, and be right to enjoy being ourselves, and enjoy that it is right to enjoy being ourselves. It is similar to becoming Christ like - because Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God who makes known the unknowable God.
So, yes the meaning of life is to be like Jesus. Because Jesus was human (and God), it sets a standard and an example we are able to replicate because our circumstances and abilities are atleast comparable. But the reason you want to be like Jesus is that He is representing God. And you want to be like God because God is perfect, and enjoys being perfect.

Now, that was a recap of part I.

Part II - Of goals and desires.

Firstly, have you ever noticed that the things you desire most bring some brief satisfaction when the desire is quenched, but rarely bring any lasting joy? It fades rapidly and is replaced with the desire for another thing. Especially the deceits of the Devi.
But those things which steal up on one, or which one initially refuses, but grudginly accept become the greatest source of pleasure and satisfaction to us? Especially the gifts of God.
If you learnt nothing else today, that would be a good one to remember.
We live by faith and not by sight. (I'm sure I read that somewhere...)
Faith is putting into practice what you know theoretically to be true.
And you now know theorertcially that God's gifts will make you happy, even though you cannot presently see it, and the deceit of the devil will make you unhappy, even though they seem to your sight to promise happiness and joy.

I think that is the basis for my next point.

Today I was looking at new cars, because Iam driving a 14 year old Mazda 121 that has done 388,849 kilometers. I told God I would drive it as long as it lasted, but then I wanted something nice. Which is dumb, because a. it is nice, I really like this car, and b. now I have said that, God will make sure it goes forever.

(Atleast I didn't promise to give the money I was saving for a new car to charity for as long as the old car lasted. Apprently the preacher Tony Campolo did that and the car never died.)

But I was looking, perhaps wishfully, perhaps foolishly, at new/slightly second hand cars. And in particular, I thought a 4 years old V8 Range Rover, at $70k, and a 4 year old Porsche Cayman at $80k, would fit the bill nicely. Then I began thinking about whether I should want these things, or whether that was proud, and I should set my sights lower. I was wondering if I could be happy driving something cheaper, like an old defender, and a Mazda mx5, for a total of $20k, not $150k. (The idea of only having one car didn't come up, interstingly...)

Then I started to wonder whether I wasn't projecting too much onto cars, becaue they could not actually make me happy, and whether I wanted impressive cars to reflect the status I thougth I should occupy in society and use them as tool to impress and gain advantage over other people (people are easier to control when they hold you in awe).. Which made me feel I might have wrong motvies in this...

So I asked myself what sort of car should I want? What is it proper to desire?
What would be a good car for me to have?

Then it occurred to me that this was precisely the wrong question altogether, no matter what the answer.

Firstly, what is the point of working out the answer?
I find I work better when I have a direct goal - e.g. I want to complete the building I am managing by Christmas, so I work late. That works and is good motivational technique.
But when I have an indirect goal, especially if I am idolatrising something, it never works. If you want to buy a car, and you need to finish the building by Christmas to get a bonus to buy the car, it does not motivate me. Contraryily it distracts me. I start day dreaming about the car and resenting the work I have to do to get the car. And I work more poorly.
So, having a "goal" of X amount of money to buy car Y is not a good motivational technique. So choosing what I will spend my money on when I have it does not in the least help me make money. The kind of desires do not help you achieve the goal.

Secondly, I work best when I do something I love. And I do it well and quickly and efficiently for the joy of doing it well. I love building buildings. It is a really fun job. And when I get into the swing of it, I can motvate other people, and cut costs, and schedule more efficiently and get it done faster and cheaper and at a better quality than most project managers. And that is FUN.

But if I allow it to become subsumed into another purpose, the joy of a job well done is lost. I enjoy my work most when I forget about money and do what I love well. When I focus on the pay, I do it badly.

So what then is the answer?

Well, at any given time in your life, do what you love, and do it well. Then spend your money wisely. One day I may buy a porsche and a range rover. If I have that much money, and nothing better to spend it on, and I have discharged my charitable obligations, been generous to my friends and family and helped the poor and deserving, and there is some left over, and I need a new car (or two), why not?

But that situtation may never come about. I certainly don't bring it any closer by dreaming about it. And if it does come about, I will enjoy it all the more for not having desired it for years. All I do is stir up a desire which actually prevents me from working, and possibly actually robs me of the joy of the object when I reach it.

So what then is my conclusion?

Enjoy your work.
Buy what seems best to you with the money you have here and now.
Plan less.
Get lost in the now.

There is no question of what should I desire.
Desire nothing. There is no joy to be had in empty dreams.
Do what you enjoy now, and make the best of your resources now.
So, with the money I have now, what is the best car I can buy? Well, right now, I am relatively poor, so how about a little green mazda 121 that has done 388,849 km and never broken down and looks likely to go forever!

"Proof text" for this one too: (One verse isn't enough to prove anything, but I don't have a verse to prove that...)
Ecclesiates 5:19 - Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is a gift of God.


Dave.