人生的目的

華理克（Rick Warren）

 

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暢銷書《標竿人生》（Purpose Driven Life）的作者華理克牧師，也是著名的加州馬鞍山教會的牧師；數年前他接受訪談，對於「人生的目的」發表一段精辟的看法，事後在網路上廣為流傳。當時他的書熱賣，太太卻罹患了乳癌。如今他太太已痊愈，並充滿活力地服事神。以下是當年華理克牧師的談話：

　 有人問我，人生的目的是甚麽？

我答道：簡單的說，人生是為永恒作預備。我們被造，原本就不是要長生不老；神乃是要我們與他同住在天堂。有一天我的心髒會停止跳動，那是我身體完結的時候，但卻不是「我」的終點。

我在地上可能活個60至100年，但在永恒裏卻將待上無數年。此生隻是一場暖身活動和彩排，將來我們在永恒裏所要作的，神要我們在地上先練習練習。

我們是被神所造，也是為他而造的；除非你弄清楚這點，否則生命是沒有意義的。

人生就是一連串的問題：你若非正在一個問題中，就是剛從一個問題裏出來，再不就是正要進入另一個問題。

人生為何如此？那是因為神關注你的性格（character），超過你的安逸（comfort）；他希望讓你的生活聖潔（holy），超過讓你的生活快樂（happy）。

我們在地上的生活，可以是相當快樂的，但那並非生活的目的。生活的目的是讓性格成長，變得更像基督。

過去這一年，是我一生中最棒的一年，同時也是最艱難的一年，因我太太凱伊罹患了癌症。

過去我總以為，人生就像許多高山和低穀：你會經過一段幽暗的時刻，然後到達山峰，如此周而複始。但現在我不再這麽認為了。

與其說人生是許多高山和低穀，倒不如說它像鐵道的兩條鐵軌，好事和壞事總是同時並存在你的生活中。

不論你的生活中有多少美好的事，總會存在一些不好的事，是需要你去克服的。反之，不管你遭遇多少壞事，總還有一些好事是你可以感謝神的。

你可以專注在你的目標上，或者專注在你的煩惱上：如果你專注在自己的煩惱上，你將成為自我中心，心裏充滿「我的煩惱」、「我的問題」、「我的痛苦」。但擺脫痛苦的最簡單方法之一，就是將焦點從自己身上轉向神和別人。

　雖然有數十萬人為凱伊代禱，我們很快發現：神不打算透過超自然的方式醫治她，或讓她感到輕鬆一點。這療程對她而言非常艱難，但神卻使她的性格堅強，並交給她一個助人的職務，賜給她一項見證，使她更親近神，也更親近人。

你必須學習處理人生中的好事和壞事。事實上，學習處理好事，有時更不容易。例如，過去這年，由於我的書大賣1500萬本，我一下子變得非常富有。它也使我一夕爆紅，我必須去處理這些從未有過的名聲。

我不相信神賜給你錢財和名聲，是為了滿足你的自負，或讓你過一個優渥的生活。因此我開始求問神：他要我怎樣使用這些錢財、名聲和影響力。他給我兩段經文，幫助我作出決定，就是哥林多後書9章和詩篇72篇。

首先，雖然有大筆錢財進帳，我們決定絲毫不改變自己的生活方式，也沒有購買任何重大物品。其次，大約從去年年中起，我停止從教會支薪。第三，我們成立基金會，資助一項我們稱之為「和平方案」的計畫，來拓植教會、裝備領袖、幫助窮人、照顧病人、教育下一代。第四，我將過去24年來，就是從我建立這間教會以來，教會所付給我的薪資全部加起來，還給教會。能夠免費服事神，真是自由。
我們須要問自己：我要為何而活？錢財？名聲？我要被甚麽所驅策？壓力？罪惡感？苦毒？物質主義？還是要受神在我身上的目的所驅策？

當我早晨起來，我坐在床邊說：神啊！如果今天我一事無成，我還是要更認識你，更愛你。

　神把我放在這地上，不是隻要我做完一張待辦清單。他關注我所是，超過我所做。這就是為何我們被稱為「人類」 （human beings），而非「人工」（human doings）。

快樂時刻，讚美神。困難時刻，尋求神。安靜時刻，敬拜神。痛苦時刻，信任神。任何時刻，感謝神。

People ask me, What is the purpose of life?

And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain. But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.