Losing focus of Purpose vs. Losing focus of Task

       

I spent the weekend thinking about purpose vs. task. You see, I realized Sunday night that I had lost my focus. But did I lose my focus on a task or my purpose? What happens when the two get blurred? These two things can present themselves the same way, yet be miles apart. And that difference can be a matter of hopefulness or hopelessness; living abundantly and losing things most dear to you.

Kind Solomon had a task and a purpose. At various times in his life, he lost site of both. I’d argue that Solomon had a purpose to love God and make His name known; his task: to rebuild the temple. The umbrella for which Solomon’s life fell under was to fulfill God’s will. And it is the under this umbrella that all tasks come under.

At times, Solomon lost focus. His task was confused for his purpose and once the task was completed, he wasn’t sure what else to do. After he built the temple (his task), sometimes I get the picture that he reclined in his lazy boy chair, threw his feet up on his Ikea desk and twiddled his thumbs in boredom, asking “What to do now?” Maybe, just maybe, for a minute he lost his focus on his purpose. And soon, all the riches and pleasures of life and the women, oh the women, eventually turned his heart after other gods. In fact, this is made him different from his father, kind David, whose heart remained devoted to the LORD right up until his death. This could be a case where task was mistaken for purpose. Remembering to Love God and make Him known (his purpose) may have led to him getting out of his lazy boy chair, getting down on his knees and lifting his hands up to the heavens asking the LORD, “What now shall YOU have me do?”

I spent the weekend thinking about purpose vs. task. I felt that over the course of 4 days, I had majorly lost focus…on a specific task that has been put before me. I had allowed certain wants and desires to shadow that task. And at the end of the day, I realized that regaining focus was a matter of remembering my purpose: To love God and make Him known. And it was at that point that I stopped twiddling my thumbs and asked the LORD, “What now shall YOU have me do?”