The Meaning of Life and a Little Bit on Shaving

I sat across the table from Grant Yost Sunday evening. In front of me an assortment of food awaited my attention. I stared down at the table my purpose in life being quite apparent. I needed to clear that plate. Little did I know, however, that my train of thought would be promptly directed toward priorities I hadn’t considered in a long time.

The young man in front of me began talking. A look of deep concentration and a slight smile showed on his face. Listening intently, I forked food into my mouth without giving the wonderful taste much thought. I was captivated. He presented the idea that life for the Christian should be completely spiritual. The other things that lay on a more material level aren’t important. I think that he was taking the verse in Mathew six about selling everything we have and following Christ literally.

Next to me on my left another great mind, Bryan Elliff, put his ideas in the mix. He seemed to lean towards Grant’s train of thought. We shouldn’t have the picture of five Christian business men, he told me. Instead, he presented the view that all Christians everywhere should live with the necessities only preaching the gospel and further the kingdom.

In the end, we left the table with unresolved issues, confused ideas, intangible thoughts and one main question: Is the passage, “sell everything you have, pick up your cross, and follow me” a mindset or an action? Should we live a life where spirituality is our only action while the rest like fashion, hobbies, or more important secular activities like work lay stagnate? Or should we live a life where our main Goal is spirituality while we incorporate the material as a means of supporting the spiritual.

The main point of this post is not really to answer that question because I can’t do so with confidence. I want to cause you readers to consider your life and what it means. What is your purpose and how exactly do you go about fulfilling it. So, though I will tell you a little bit about what I think, I only want to provoke your thoughts enough for you to go out and find the answer for yourself.

So, we all probably hold the view that we must glorify God in this life. That is our life’s meaning: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Mathew 5:16) But how much of our lives and what part of our lives should be dedicated to that cause. We live a life where there are so many more things then just the spiritual realm. Every where we turn around there is always something material staring us in the face. Unless we are missionaries or pastors, work’s goals are always material, so, according to our question, can we work in a material world and still glorify God? Or should we not work at all and focus solely on glorifying God. If we go to a store to look for cloths our goals are material and won’t really glorify God, so, according to our question, can we shop fashionably and yet still glorify God. Or should we not focus on fashion at all. I Hope the picture I am painting is becoming clear. Can we focus on this material world and yet still fulfill our meaning in life? According to Mathew 6, we must “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” So it is somewhat clear from this verse that we should first focus on seeking the kingdom of God, or glorifying God, in everything we do. Then certain things like what we wear and what we eat will be provided for us. But is it sinful if we engage in a material way after we have first sought the kingdom?

Before I continue with this train of thought I want to incorporate a quick illustration. As most boys my age who have begun to sprout facial hair, I must shave. If I don’t I look trashy and ill prepared for my day. There are times when I don’t shave and tend to let the hair grow. It begins to look bad and eventually I begin to feel scratchy. As the days go on and I still don’t shave, my mind starts to be affected. I feel lazy. Not wanting to do anything I won’t work as hard and periodically find myself sitting around doing nothing. So if I want to stay on top of my game I need to shave. Now from a birds eye view, shaving may not seem like a very important part of my overall life. It is way more important for me to finish college and get a good job then to shave every day. However, if you look closely at the subtle affect that occurs from not shaving you will slowly see the birds-eye-view changing. My life would essentially begin to look pretty unproductive. In fact, I might not ever finish college. That doesn’t mean shaving should be my number one priority, mind you, because it doesn’t directly result in my getting a college degree or a job. I must primarily focus on striving for the degree. But since how I feel—like being scratchy and trashy—does affect how well I do at big things like college and work, I should focus somewhat on getting rid of the trashy feeling.

All of that to say, yes, our number one priority should be glorifying God. That is our purpose in life. But that doesn’t mean I should just let my physical existence go. I need to stay in shape so that I will have a body that can continue to preach the gospel and seek first the kingdom of God. That doesn’t mean my main focus should be staying in shape just like my mane focus shouldn’t be shaving, But I still need to put some energy and care in that part of my life so that I can better fulfill my true meaning. In a sense, then, I am incorporating in a material goal and using that goal to glorify God. I also shouldn’t give up on creating a good appearance. Who will take a Christian seriously if he begins evangelizing dressed carelessly? People will find him unkempt and repelling. Again, we are using a material goal to glorify God. The same goes for every part of our physical being. So all I am trying to say is that the material life around us is linked in a very intimate way with our spiritual lives. We can’t have the spiritual with out the physical. We must care about what happens in this material world. We must also be incorporated in material activity because it does flow over into our spiritual lives.

So to answer the main question should we actually physically get rid of everything we own and then follow Christ? It isn’t obligated. But, in a way, it is like separating two very necessary parts from each other: the physical existence we were created to enjoy from the spiritual existence we were created to live for. We can use our physical desires and needs to work as a catalyst for our spiritual growth and the expansion of God’s kingdom. I’m not saying that we can’t sell everything we own and get rid of every material thing we do to follow Christ, because some great Christians do that. I am saying that we shouldn’t feel obligated as Christians to literally sell everything and just stop incorporating ourselves into certain material things. I believe God was saying that we should use everything we own and everything we do for His glory. If that means selling everything, giving to the poor, and going out to evangelize then follow that call. But even then the Christian won’t escape all of material things in this world. He must still deal with them as they come using them to further the kingdom. So don't just rid yourself of everything material but use everything and every circumstance you have and are in for God’s glory.