Article February 20, 1984 Issue

Purpose, place, and practice

RUTH ELIZABETH JENKS

No one wants to drift aimlessly without a purpose. One of the very first questions a child asks is "Why?" We all want purpose in what we are doing, in where we are going, and we want that purpose to be fulfilled.

There once was a man who had "arrived"—according to the world's definition of success. He had great riches, we're told, several palatial homes, and an added ingredient, a sense of wisdom. One would think he never would have to worry about purpose.

And yet this man was frustrated. He felt life lacked purpose. Looking over all he had gained, he uttered a statement that the world would echo through the centuries, one that gives pause to each of us today. In desperation he cried out, "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity."^{Eccl. 1:2.}

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