Is There A Purpose To Life?

Sooner or later, nearly everybody wonders what the purpose of life is. Is it to work hard to improve our living conditions, to provide for our families, to die after perhaps 70 or 80 years, and then to be nonexistent forever? One young person who felt this way said that there is no other purpose in life than "to live, to have children, to be happy and then to die." But is that true? And does death really end it all?

Many in both Eastern and Western lands feel that the main purpose in living is to acquire material wealth. They believe that this can lead to a happy, meaningful life. But what of people who already have material wealth? Canadian writer Harry Bruce said: "A baffling number of rich people insist they are not happy." He added: "Polls suggest a terrible pessimism has infected North America... Is anybody happy out there? If so, what's the secret?"

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter stated: "We've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning....Piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose." And another political leader said: "I have for several years now been engaged in an intensive search for truths about myself and my life; many other people I know are doing the same. More people than ever before are asking, 'Who are we? what is our purpose?"

Continued-Next time: Conditions Are More Difficult