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How Can You Add Purpose to Your Life?

A LIFETIME of seventy or eighty years is about as much as most people hope for. And, really, that is far too short to be spending long periods experimenting with a variety of efforts to make life purposeful. There are, after all, definite limits as to just how many fields a person can explore in the years of his adult life. How disappointing and frustrating it would be to find that you had wasted precious years in the pursuit of goals that proved fruitless! But just how can this useless experimenting be avoided?

We can profit greatly by considering the experience of others. Why are they happy or miserable, contented or dissatisfied? Surely it would be foolish to start out on a course of life that has repeatedly proved frustrating and disappointing to all who have undertaken it.

However, merely acknowledging that a certain goal is not truly worth while will not of itself prevent us from experiencing an empty, meaningless life. Often people are heard to say, ‘Money isn’t everything.’ Yet many of the very same people show by their materialistic way of life that, at heart, they really do not believe this. Hence, if you want to add purpose to your life, you must be willing to profit from the experiences of others and apply yourself in avoiding their mistakes.

Very ancient writings available to most persons today can be most helpful to you in this regard. About three thousand years ago there lived an exceptionally wise man who was able to undertake an extensive survey of human activities. He also made a record of his findings, a record that has been preserved with amazing accuracy clear down to our twentieth century. What he discovered has endured the test of time. Millions have profited from his account. By acting in harmony with the sound conclusions this wise man, King Solomon, set forth, they have avoided pitfalls that could have plunged them into a life of disappointment and frustration. Why have Solomon’s writings proved to be so beneficial?

His outstanding wisdom came from a superhuman source, namely, from man’s Maker, Jehovah God. (1 Ki. 3:11, 12) Ecclesiastes, the book that contains Solomon’s observations, forms a part of “all Scripture [that] is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness.” (2 Tim. 3:16) So, when we consider what Solomon wrote, we are getting the benefit of experience of the highest value. All the observations and conclusions are accurate, as Solomon was under the guidance of God’s holy spirit.

The book of Ecclesiastes forcefully shows up the folly of a life centered exclusively around the pursuit of pleasure, culture, riches or knowledge as an end in itself. It reveals a balanced view of work and of the enjoyment of its fruitage. This book realistically presents the inequities of an imperfect world and provides sound guidelines for coping with them.

In a powerful way, the book of Ecclesiastes emphasizes that life can have purpose whenever persons have a wholesome regard for the Creator and seek to keep his commands. Solomon wrote: “The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the true God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole obligation of man. For the true God himself will bring every sort of work into the judgment in relation to every hidden thing, as to whether it is good or bad.”​—Eccl. 12:13, 14.

Why not take the opportunity to read the book of Ecclesiastes? Then, by applying the lessons it presents, see for yourself how realistic it is in showing what truly can add purpose to your life.