Purpose, Fulfillment, Discontent
Purpose
In the Face of Her Purpose
I was on a
crowded train to Salem so that I could catch July 4th fireworks when a young
Asian woman who caught my eye immediately got on at one of the stops and sat in
the seat right next to mine. Not wanting to miss any chance with her, I struck
up a conversation with the woman and learned she was a grad student in psychology.
After briefly discussing her studies and what she specialized in, she told me
she was going to Boston for her internship program. Before I knew what interns
are put through, I was mystified that she was being made to work on a
significant federal holiday. I casually (hopefully not creepily) invited her to
ditch her responsibilities and join my friends and I to catch the fireworks.
She politely declined, and I felt my chances with her evaporate into thin air.
I got off at my stop in Salem, hiked over to the waterfront to sit with my
friends on the waterfront lawn, and thought about the beautiful woman I’d met
on the train for the rest of the night.
Was I
transfixed on the woman just because of her attractiveness, or was there
something deeper going on inside that kept my mind on the interaction? She was
impressive for more than her looks; she was intelligent, but the woman had
resolve and displayed a keen sense of purpose. Not only that, she had a lot of
things riding on living up to her goal, such as her reputation and future
career as a psychologist or psychiatrist. At that time, I was adrift and
purposeless. My reputation was virtually nonexistent, and despite being the
same age as the woman on the train, my aspirations to be a screenwriter were
outmatched by my cowardice to take the steps toward seeing that dream realized.
So, I’d spend the next eight years trying to discover my purpose. Through a series
of events, I eventually found my purpose was; to have the image of God restored
in me through Christ, to do the will of God, and to help teach what God’s word
teaches us all.
As citizens of
planet Earth, we are obsessed with discovering our purpose. In the secular
world, we are inundated with literature and films devoted to the main character
finding and living out their purpose. We even have books dedicated to purpose
in the Christian sphere, such as The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.
Why is this the case? Most likely because purpose is tied to a sense of
fulfillment, which inevitably has to do with having peace.
Most of our
lives as adults are spent trying to achieve our purposes politically, but
sometimes that can go awry. On January 6th, 2021, I witnessed
something on television that seemed truly bizarre and turned out to be deadly.
It wasn’t as horrifying as Pearl Harbor and not as terrifying as 9/11, as some
have claimed, but people died, which is important. In Washington D. C., during
a political protest, people had begun and successfully entered the capitol
building by force. Looking back, I remember how the crowds looked like a swarm
of bees trying to get into a hive. In that swarm, I could see signage
supporting Donald Trump, signs demanding a stop to congressional corruption,
and signs that were supposed to represent Christianity. All these sign carriers
were heading towards the doors where a capitol police officer would eventually
be crushed to death by the people holding their banners. Finally, I would find
out that the Senate had to be evacuated. A video would be released showing
people shouting profanity victoriously, reaching the Senate floor, and leading
themselves into prayer.[1]
The syncretism of vitriolic political behavior with Christian beliefs baffled
me, and I learned how naïve I was about that mixture. Afterward, I was assured
I would forget about the incident after six months. Not so, the event shocked
me to the point where it became the focus of a paper I wrote in my last semester
in seminary, and here I am two years later writing about it again.
By all
accounts, I’m not a political junkie. I would say that I avoid politics in some
aspects to not feed into the outrage machine that seems to be thriving these
days. This book isn’t even trying to be political unless it’s to say “that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 2:10-11).”
No, January 6th, 2021, didn’t make me more political, but that syncretism that
I noted above made me wonder about the purpose of Christians and if we know
what our purpose is, but also, do we care? So, I want to take some time to
address the concept of purpose from a few angles that touch upon fulfillment
and contentment and discuss what purpose means for the Christian faith.
Questions About Fulfillment
One central
question we must determine is how we define fulfillment. In a German study,
partakers were asked to do just that. Many of those surveyed tied being
fulfilled to personal successes, overcoming adversity, and leaving an
influential legacy behind; one wise young woman said that a full life “contains
much gratitude and appreciation.”[2]
But how much success is enough, and are people truly fulfilled when their goals
are achieved? Similarly, what happens when an individual’s ultimate achievement
is realized, and nothing is left? Is the reward of personal success enough to
occupy the rest of our lives with the peace it was supposed to bring? Perhaps;
perhaps not.
Not to the
fault of those surveyed in the German study, but it has been a prevalent
misconception that great success will bring fulfillment, even if it is part of
an individual’s purpose for living. The 2005 60 Minutes interview with
the New England Patriots (my favorite NFL team) quarterback Tom Brady is an
excellent example of discontentment despite high achievement. At the time of
the interview, Brady had already racked up three Super Bowl wins with the Pats,
putting him in the upper echelon of quarterbacks in NFL history. Winning just
one title is considered the pinnacle of a player’s career, but winning three
must be like being an uncontested champion: you’re king of the mountain. Yet,
in the interview, Brady expresses something many might not expect, saying, “Why
do I have three Super Bowl rings and feel like there’s still something greater
out there for me?”[3] He continued to
hypothesize that people might say to him that he’s living his dream, but to
Brady, all he could think was, “There’s got to be more than this…this can’t be
what it’s all cracked up to be; I’ve done it at 27.”[4]
If a man who has obtained three NFL championships at that age is discontent,
can we really say that humans will be fulfilled after achieving what they thought
their life’s purpose was?
Brady’s story
is like many others. Some experts call this realization the “arrival fallacy,”
coined by Harvard psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar.[5]
It’s the myth that when we achieve a particular goal, it will lead to
happiness. Those who arrive at that moment experience a fleeting feeling of
victory but then become lost as to where to direct themselves.[6]
As for Brady, when Steve Kroft asked him if he knew the answer to what other
higher purpose there was, the quarterback confessed that he wished he knew.[7]
If people who go through this issue are not careful and continue to limit
themselves to such a narrow focus, they can go through another process called
the Summit Syndrome.[8]
The main symptom of that syndrome is seen in a person seeking out the
adrenaline that comes from “continually challenging themselves.”[9]
The fallout, however, is burnout, followed by that person trying to put their
life back together. Brady used his experience to get another four Super Bowl
rings, but his focus on winning may have also negatively impacted his marriage,
as seen with his highly publicized divorce. Nevertheless, this cycle may only
continue since so much of contemporary society emphasizes fulfillment and
purpose.
Getting in the Way of Purpose
Another
question has to be addressed: what happens when other people get in the way of
another’s perceived purpose? The story of someone attaining their purpose is
made more compelling by overcoming obstacles and persevering against an
antagonist’s opposition. The movies often portray the antagonist as an external
threat or rivalry, but the family can ultimately thwart an individual’s quest
to find and complete their purpose. This was supposedly the case with the great
American author Edgar Allan Poe. The writer was orphaned as a boy but was then
taken in by the Allan family of Virginia, though never adopted by the Allans.[10]
From an early age, he showed proclivities toward reading, classical languages
(Latin and Greek), and writing.[11]
Despite how he’s remembered, he was reasonably athletic, often challenging his
schoolmates to physical contests, and had a knack for causing a lot of
mischiefs, to the chagrin of his caretaker.[12]
Because of the Allans’ money trouble at the time, and Poe’s youthful rambunctious
activities, relations between the two began to sour, and Allan began
withdrawing financial support from young Edgar.
The lack of
funds was devastating to Poe because he had designs to be both a distinguished
military officer and an author, but schooling for both cost more than Poe could
earn at the time, probably because he’d been gambling most of it away.[13]
When he found out his funds were being cut while attending the prestigious
military academy West Point, Poe lost all motivation to fulfill his required
duties and was court-martialed.[14]
Finding residence with long-lost blood relatives, Poe turned in earnest to
writing, having infrequent success with publishing and not earning a dime. His
luck changed, however, around 1835 when he was hired onto the staff as a
personal assistant for the editor of a literary journal called the Southern
Literary Messenger.[15]
This employment enabled him to write and publish his work. Although he was
fired a couple of years later for fits of alcohol-induced fits and other
problematic behavior, the position and publications were enough to cement his
name in the American literary scene of the day.[16]
Nevertheless,
despite the rising success, Poe lost all familial affection between himself and
his guardian, Allan. Even on his deathbed, Allan threatened Poe with a beating
if he didn’t leave the residence. Kennedy, a biographer of Poe, heavily
insinuates that Allan didn’t resent Poe for wanting to become an author. It was
because of the young poet’s behavior and seeing his guardian as a bank rather
than a caretaker. Poe worsened matters while visiting Allan shortly before his
death, trying to plead for a small inheritance.[17]
There was no reconciliation after that visit, so Poe would have to forge his
financial path forward.
When I first
set out to write this section, I assured myself that I would find an amazing
example of how family can get in the way of a person’s purpose. Those stories
are out there and prevalent in pop culture. The song “Numb” by the band Linkin
Park is one famous example of a child trying to live out their purpose, which
conflicts with a parent’s high expectations. In the Christian sphere, the film I
Can Only Imagine depicts the real-life story of MercyMe’s frontman, Bart
Millard, who went against his father’s wishes to be a singer and musician. But
when I came upon the story of Poe’s life, I found that the truth is often more
complex than we like to entertain with many rags-to-riches tales of real-life
people.[18]
Yes, John Allan had a hand in thwarting Poe’s self-perceived purposes of
becoming a distinguished military officer and author, but Poe got in his own
way as well due to his addiction to gambling and alcohol along with the
ill-temperament that both of those vices produced.
What I am
saying is the emphasis we as a culture put on the idea of purpose and
fulfillment is romanticized. It is romanticized to the point where it can
quickly breed discontent. In Tom Brady’s case, it led it him answering the
interviewer’s question, “What’s your favorite ring,” with the response, “The
next one.” For Poe, the discontent stemming from an unfulfilled purpose led to
more drinking and ruining relationships with peers. We can’t always blame being
discontent on another person; sometimes, our greatest adversary is ourselves.
Discontent As A Group
It’s not
individuals who’re just concerned about purpose; it can be whole groups of
people. Since that is the case, unfulfillment and discontent can also be
experienced as a community, and those two things can be the source of the
search for purpose or be caused by trying to live purpose out. In some general
observations, at least two things can happen when a group/communities purpose
is being hindered. First, group leaders can reassess their goals to determine
if that goal benefits the community. Secondly, they become violent in some
manner of speaking and make everyone’s life miserable under the guise of a
future hope that their goal is achieved.
In many cases,
history has shown that groups choose the latter. I’m reminded of the song
“Zombie” by the band The Cranberries, which illustrates the point of a group’s
discontent that makes everyone miserable. The late front-woman Dolores
O’Riordan wrote the song in reaction to a bombing committed by the IRA (Irish
Republican Army) in the Cheshire town of Warrington, England, killing two
children.[19] The misery the song
portrays is felt fully in the fifth stanza:
Another
mother’s breaking
Heart
is taking over
When
the violence causes silence
We must be
mistaken[20]
The songwriter didn’t seem to
think that the bomber’s motivations towards a liberated Northern Ireland and
the discontent stemming from the lack thereof were founded in reality, which
can be interpreted in the 6th stanza:
It’s the same old theme
Since nineteen-sixteen
In your head, in your head, they’re still fighting
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head, they are dying[21]
She then labels the
self-proclaimed “freedom fighter” as a “zombie” because the bomber has
brainwashed themselves to think they’re contributing to a noble ideal by
causing the suffering of others, the innocent.
Was O’ Riordan
right? Were the conflict and discontent only in the heads of those within the
IRA? After the song was released, the band was slammed for speaking about
something they didn’t fully understand.[22]
About twenty years before “Zombie” was written, a tragic massacre occurred when
British soldiers opened fire on a crowd of unarmed civilians in Derry, North
Ireland, killing fourteen people.[23]
The massacre was dubbed “Bloody Sunday” and memorialized a decade later by the
mega-popular Irish band U2. The tragedy itself had been part of a period called
“the Troubles,” which extended from the 1960s to the 1990s.[24]
But that is not to say Bono was sympathetic to any revolutionary ideology in
writing the song. In their 1988 rock documentary, Bono stops halfway through a
live performance of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” to say:
And let me tell you somethin’. I’ve had enough of Irish Americans who haven’t been back to their country in twenty or thirty years come up to me and talk about the resistance, the revolution back home…and the glory of the revolution…and the glory of dying for the revolution. F— the revolution! They don’t talk about the glory of killing for the revolution. What’s the glory in taking a man from his bed and gunning him down in front of his wife and his children? Where’s the glory in that? Where’s the glory in bombing a Remembrance Day parade of old age pensioners, their medals taken out and polished up for the day. Where’s the glory in that? To leave them dying or crippled for life or dead under the rubble of a revolution that the majority of the people in my country don’t want. No more![25]
Therefore, it seems the misery
caused by the discontent of the IRA at that time had been expressed by Irish
artists long before O’Riordan wrote and recorded “Zombie” with the Cranberries.
The message from The Cranberries and Bono can be summed up as saying, “You’re
making it worse for everyone.”
A Lost Purpose
Revisiting
January 6th, 2021, we can see the discontent of the protestors, who
would eventually turn to rioters. What caused this discontent? During the time,
it was popular on social media to blame conspiracy theories promoted by the shadowy
QAnon. A study conducted by the Shorenstein Center, however, found that only
around four percent of people of defendants listed that as their primary
reason.[26]
Instead, the study cited that 20.6% of rioters participated because of their
loyalty to President Donald Trump. Another 20.6% added that they believed his
claims about voter fraud during the 2020 Presidential election.[27]
The Covid-19 restrictions had fueled Trump’s claims about voter fraud since
those restrictions increased the necessity for mail-in ballots, a system in
which he cast a critical eye on its accountability. When voters started feeding
into the narrative, it added more electricity to an already potent political
atmosphere that lockdowns and summer-long protests and riots over police
violence and racial discrimination had charged up. When Trump supporters
believed that the system lied to them then, they let their anger be felt at the
nation’s capital; they let their discontent over their failed purpose of
keeping Trump President be known on the deserted Senate floor and in the
Congressional offices.
It should be
stated that this isn’t a book about trashing Trump or his supporters, though.
I’m trying to delve deeply into the concept of purpose. What was the purpose of
electing Trump in 2016 and trying to do so again in 2020? Anecdotally, the
people I know who voted for him did so because he went to Evangelical Christians
with arms wide open and promised them a prominent place beside him. It worked
very well. Let’s not forget that an exit poll conducted by the Pew Research
Center revealed that 81% of voters who identified as Evangelical voted for
Trump, with additional large percentages of voters in other areas of
conservative Christianity.[28]
Voters supported and elected him in the face of Trump having been married three
times, having a suspected affair with an adult film star, and disturbing
comments about women leaked from the set of his former NBC show, The
Apprentice.
It wasn’t just
Trump’s loyalty to Evangelical Christianity that won over a lot of people. He
campaigned on policies such as a strong commitment to pro-life issues,
reversing “Obamacare” measures, strengthening the border between Mexico and the
U.S., and revitalizing the economy excited many people. Family and friends who
supported him shared with me that it would be like a return to Regan era
prosperity and the prosperity of the post-WW-II economic boom the United States
experienced. Many felt vindicated when the country’s GDP went up to almost 3%,[29]
and then there was the fact that the stock market was experiencing
record-breaking growth, and when ISIS was dealt with a series of effective
defeats.[30] There were many other
perceived victories for Trump supporters, and it seemed that many bought into
the purpose of making America great again. Many around me, people I never
expected of many ethnicities,[31]
celebrated what his presidency was doing for the States.
Supporters of
Donald Trump, however, found out very soon they’d have to fight for their new
purpose under the 45th president. They decried the Mueller
Investigation searching for his campaign colluding with Russia. They labeled it
a “witch hunt,” citing how the international news media participated with those
who opposed Trump. Some even tried to highlight such biases.[32]
So, the tension between Trump supporters and non-Trump supporters had been
there from the start, and the pressure seemed to intensify, especially when
worries about how members of white nationalist groups rallied around him. Yet,
the harder his opponents pressed, the more his supporters held him up. By the
time the 2020 election was about to wrap up, no evidence claiming Biden was the
new president was enough for those supporters who were discontent with their
purpose to make America great again being squashed.
The powder keg exploded on January 6th, and people who once claimed to be on the side of law and order were the exception to the rule. Some claimed their actions were justified, and others no longer care. Still, in reality, their discontent made things worse for everyone, but especially for the families of those who died that day, and that’s important, and it’s important to note that some who claimed to be followers of Christ took part in that day.
[1] Luke Mogelson, “A Reporter’s Video from Inside the Capitol Siege,” (video of siege, The New Yorker, January 17, 2021), accessed January 18, 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/news/video-dept/a-reporters-footage-from-inside-the-capitol-siege
[2] Doris Baumann and Willbald Ruch, “What constitutes a fulfilled life? A Mixed Methods Study on Lay Perspectives Across the Lifespan,” Front Pscyhol 13 (Sep 30) published online, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9563392/
[3] Tom Brady and Steve Kroft, “Tom Brady On Winning: ‘There’s Got to be More Than This,’” 60 Minutes November 4, 2005, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TA4_fVkv3c
[4]
Ibid.
[5] Linda Blair, “ The 'Arrival Fallacy': Why Reaching That Goal Won't Make You Happy,” The Sydney Morning Herald, June 12, 2018, https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/the-arrival-fallacy-why-reaching-that-goal-won-t-make-you-happy-20180612-p4zkxa.html
[6] Ibid.
[7] Brady and Croft, “Tom Brady On Winning,” 60 Minutes
[8] Blair, “The Arrival Fallacy,” The Sydney Morning Herald
[9] Ibid.
[10] J. Gerald Kennedy, A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 20.
[11] Ibid., 21.
[12] Ibid., 21-22. At one point Poe dressed up as ghost so that he could frighten the members of a gentlemen’s social club that listed a prominent war hero as one of its members.
[13] Throughout the presentation of Poe’s youth to his adult life, Kennedy weaves a thread of poet’s fondness of gambling and drink through it all.
[14] Ibid., 29.
[15] Ibid., 35.
[16] Ibid., 35-39.
[17]
Ibid., 32.
[18]
Rags-to-riches in Poe’s case has more to do with popularity than wealth.
[19] Mark Savage, “The Tragedy That Inspired Zombie - The Cranberries' Biggest Hit,” BBC NEWS, last modified January 16, 2018, date accessed April 6, 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-42702781.
[20]
Dolores O’Riordan, “Zombie,” on No Need to Argue (New York: Island
Records), 1994, compact disc, track one.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ibid.
[23] The Legends of Music, “Sunday Bloody Sunday: The Story Behind U2’s Most Political Song,” Medium, December 13, 2018, date accessed April 7, 2023, https://medium.com/@thelegendsofmusic/sunday-bloody-sunday-the-story-behind-u2s-most-political-song-f3fd719e1009.
[24]
Ibid.
[25] U2: Rattle and Hum, directed by Phil Joanou, featuring Bono, The Edge, and Adam Clayton (Paramount Pictures, 1988, https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B000NW1HJ8/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r
[26] Miles
J. Herszenhorn, “Why Did Trump Supporters Storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6?
Because of Trump, New Harvard Study Finds,” The Harvard Crimson, July
26, 2022, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/7/26/trump-jan-6-hks-study/
[27] Ibid.
[28] Jessica Martinez and Gregory A. Smith, “How the Faithful Voted: A Preliminary 2016 Analysis,” Pew Research Center, last modified November 9, 2016, date accessed April 9, 2023, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/how-the-faithful-voted-a-preliminary-2016-analysis/
[29] “The US Economy Under Donald Trump: By the Numbers, The Economic Times, last modified November 3, 2020, date accessed April 10, 2023, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/the-us-economy-under-donald-trump-by-the-numbers/articleshow/79016028.cms?from=mdr This source also claimed that Trump inherited numbers that were also trending positively.
[30] “Remarks by President Trump on the Death of ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” Whitehouse.gov, October 27, 2019, accessed April 10, 2023. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-death-isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi/.
[31] Trump experienced a 4% increase of Latino(a)s voters from 2016 to 2020. One voter who was interviewed said he switched from Democrat to Republican because the former party changed so much of their position on things like family, taxes, abortion, etc., he virtually had nothing in common with them anymore. The BBC claims that conservative Latinos is an important reason why Texas remained red after the 2020 election. “Why Did So Many Latino’s Back Trump?,” BBC News, last modified November 9, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-54881894?fbclid=IwAR2zv-ivjPFnLqBcUEd0GMoxGIr9c6JqYh5OcyNNn0H_Qq471HX-ZqhUV6A
[32]
“Trump Bombshell Montage - Walls Are Closing In (no collusion),” Wired4Fun,
video, March 24, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1ab6uxg908.
This video humorously tries to identify an anti-Trump bias within the
mainstream media outlets. It may not be an objective argument, but it
illustrates the annoyed attitude many Trump supporters had during the Mueller Investigation.
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