What is life all about?

Corzhens

This question is posed by our teacher in religion class. Most of our answers were sacrifice that we are given life to endure sacrifices. But our teacher said that is wrong because we are given life to enjoy the material things that this world can offer. Don't get me wrong, it's not being materialistic. The phone you are holding is a part of this world and you are having it not only for the facility but for your convenience and enjoyment. Likewise we also enjoy the food we eat and the sights that we see particularly nature.

briannagodess

I think life is all about finding what your real purpose is. Are you supposed to be a mother? Have you fulfilled your role well as a mother? If so, then you have found meaning to your life and has done greatly with it. Maybe you're a career man. But there should be more than that, maybe you're destined to help others with the money you earn. After all, the more we give, the more blessings we receive. Or maybe you're supposed to be a religious preacher, teaching the words of the Lord. Whatever your purpose may be, do it with such passion that when your lifetime is over, you won't regret anything.

Simona

@Corzhens was it your religious teacher that said we are to enjoy the material world? That is a very interesting view coming from a Christian. I haven't ever considered that, but in may actually make some sense. Why else are we incarnated on the material plane? It certainly is something to think about.

I'm really not sure what life is all about, but I think part of it is loving others and taking pleasure in and appreciating some of things we have been given.

briannagodess

@Simona

It's an interesting concept for me as well. More and more priests and lecturer constantly say that I'm not supposed to be enjoying the material things. The most common thing I hear from them is, I should help the less-fortunate people. 

But I guess it makes sense as well. You can help other people as well as enjoy all the things we have on Earth. Of course, it should be in moderation. Enjoy the things, but don't abuse them. Because look at what we've done to our world, we've polluted it and destroyed it already.

Simona

Sometimes I feel the Church focusses on being pious, humble, grateful for having only a little, as if speaking to the masses, assuming they are all tired, lonely, poor, and hurting. I see the view, to accept our situation and be grateful for what is, staying faithful and waiting for our reward in heaven.

However, I also feel like that occasionally contradicts what is in the Bible, such as ask and it shall be given, the Lord has plans to prosper you, etc. Additionally I really wonder about the Vatican library and what exactly is in those texts, what spiritual knowledge is there that is held back from the masses. 

djordjem87

I would say that it is about living like you want to live. Just the way you like it and doing things that you love. For every person it is different in some way but when you see a person that is living that life you know it. It is transparent. Whether you are a family guy or an adrenaline junkie, when you are finally there you will know. We should all try to reach the goals we set and try to avoid thing we do not like. That is not easy but at least we should try. If this question is about religion then I guess perfect life would be devoting yourself for that cause.

djcatholic

I tried for a long time to not be materialistic. And I found that my life was no better. I also found that I wasn't able to help others because the world we live in is so focused on finance and money that you can't do much if you just have time.

So, I decided that the best way to do good things in life, was to have money. I can't say that I "enjoy" things, but I do feel fulfilled knowing that I am able to contribute more and more as I earn more. I think that people deserve a good life and we should be able to help them get that good life.

Its funny, but if you think about it, you can only genuinely be happy and wealthy, when you add value to other people's life. To your point, a phone has added so much value to the lives of people, and so whoever innovates in that industry deserves to live a good life - and if it means having more materialistic things for that person, then so be it. In my opinion, that person has already done more for the world.

spence88

Life is all about what God wants us to do. There is no meaning in life without God. Without a Creator, we exist for nothing. God gave each of us unique talents, we are able to share to people our gifts and knowledge spiritually and physically, we understand and we have been given the responsibility to share the saving message of Christ to others. The list goes on and on, but the key to life is to have meaning. And for our life to have meaning, we must live for God.

mr_ed_deli_man

Life is all about: "Relationships!" God and me. Me and God. Me and neighbor. Neighbor and me. Me and me.  God, me and neighbor. Really read the Bible - all about relationships!

rz3300

Well this is a little deeper than I planned on getting on a Monday afternoon, but I cannot say that it is a bad thing.  I do like the simplicity of some of the answers, and of course we all know that there is really no right or wrong answers here.  It is just a matter of personal choice and value systems, but I agree with some users in the relationships seems to be one of the more important areas.  Thanks for sharing.

Martha

Life is all about maximizing our potentials (the parable of talents) in all aspects of our lives. That means actively developing ourselves to think and act in accordance with God's will and using our blessings to bless other people. To whom much is given, so much more is expected. 

HappyFish

It's very interesting that your teacher is talking about focusing on material things.  A lot of religions steer away from this, and even Catholicism has.  There is a play from the Middle Ages, one of the "passion plays" that people put on each year to teach lessons from the Church, called "Everyman".  You can look up the text online- it's quite famous.  It's about a person who dies and finds that his things, his deeds, his friends and family, and everything else deserts him save his faith.  I think Pope Francis really speaks to this with his talks on social justice and income equality.  If life was about material wealth, then why would things like charity, humility, and service be so important?  It's not about what we have, but what we can give to others, that makes life matter.