How To Become More Than Just A Beast? What Is A Better Purpose Of Living?

[Nigel Blake]

You're using serve and service where one is submissive, under control to masters. By neutrality, God serves me in that way. Clearly, it's a horrible situation to being under control.

Thats pretty much the point. If you're serving someone you have submitted to them. Being a servant is a state of submission. If one's purpose in life is to be of service to others than that persons is a servant for it is in the nature of a servant to provide service. To provide a service you're acting for the good of others which then necessitates that good of others must be above your own good if acting for your own good doesn't fulfill your purpose but acting for the good of others does. With that in mind, it is nonsensical to even consider that God serves you or me in any way regardless of what good he does for us. What's horrible about being under control of God or the king?

 

[Hugh Johnson]

According to John Gray "Straw dogs" being moral or logical is not normal, people are animals.

This is empirically wrong. Even higher animals have a natural instinct for fairness. Even animals act altruistically when they feel safe.

Humans even more so. Late capitalist propaganda likes to present people as homo economicus (sic?), because the easiest and the most effective way to influence people is to tell them "This is how other people like you are".

Babies are altruistic to the point of it being detrimental to them. Amoral behaviour is the thing that is beaten into us by the social complex.

 

[Hugh Johnson]

Thats pretty much the point. If you're serving someone you have submitted to them. Being a servant is a state of submission. If one's purpose in life is to be of service to others than that persons is a servant for it is in the nature of a servant to provide service. To provide a service you're acting for the good of others which then necessitates that good of others must be above your own good if acting for your own good doesn't fulfill your purpose but acting for the good of others does. With that in mind, it is nonsensical to even consider that God serves you or me in any way regardless of what good he does for us. What's horrible about being under control of God or the king?

That is nonsense. A good parent serves the infant, the parent is the one with the power. God serves man because God has all the power and needs nothing.

People who consciously serve each other do not submit. It is a willing service provided for others who serve. Angels serve angels to quote Matt Kahn.

Domination, where by you extract energy from others below you is the alternative model. That is the one you are referring to.

 

[Nigel Blake]

Serving others is the HIGHEST goal. (Or, as I first stated: the END goal.) It's all that's left to do after self-actualization / salvation / whatever.

You still haven't address the issues with your line of thinking. If one's purpose in life is to serve others than that necessitates there must be someone who takes their services, which begs the question of if one fulfill their life's purpose by giving services to others then why can't one fulfill their life's purpose by taking services given by others? There are other issues that I mentioned in this thread that I rather not repeat which are still left unaddressed. On a side-note, please re frame from changing your terminology, the words you use to change with don't have the same meaning such as serving and helping....

Why do you think evangelicals spend their entire lives trying to "save" others? Because they want others to experience the same freedom they have tasted. They don't want others to suffer in eternal hell. Their taste of freedom compels them to try and save others, it isn't out of obedience to some moral law. They naturally feel that way. That's because that's the natural order of spiritual evolution. It can occur like that in every man or woman, regardless of the specifics of their faith.

They do it for their servitude to God. They don't do it as a service to others for they don't serve others but God. To reiterate, simply doing a good for someone else doesn't make that act an act of service. Giving your friend money to help pay his bill isn't you serving him. You assisting an old woman across the street isn't you serving the old woman. God creating mankind isn't God serving mankind. Not all good acts are acts of servitude.

Most people aren't there yet. Most people haven't tasted much freedom. And when they do, they recklessly spend their merit like a young inheritor of wealth and wind up right back where they started.

There lies the root of your problem. For your idea of the purpose of life being in service to others to work at least 1 of 3 things must be true
A) There are people whose purpose in life is to take the services of others
B) People's purpose in life is to take and give services to others
C) There are people whose life purpose will go unfulfilled

You have made it abundantly clear you don't see people's purpose in life involves taking services which eliminates A and B. The only option left is then C which is problematic. Ideally you want everyone to have their purpose in life fulfill but that isn't even a possibility based on what you're implying in your replies. How can the purpose in life be serving others when it is not even possible for everyone to do it?

Jesus started his ministry by teaching us to repent and look after one another and love one another. What are the two great commandments upon which all the law and the prophet's hang? To love God with all your heart, mind, and soul and to love your neighbor as thy SELF.

Who is my neighbor? What if I don't have neighbors? I am pretty sure Jesus didn't mean to love everyone....

 

[gately]

Who is my neighbor? What if I don't have neighbors? I am pretty sure Jesus didn't mean to love everyone....

Wew lad.

 

[lampofred]

Have you heard of Geschwind sydrome (from Wikipedia: hypergraphia, hyperreligiosity, reduced sexuality, intensified mental life)? It's a sign of temporal lobe epilepsy.

 

[gately]

Have you heard of Geschwind sydrome (from Wikipedia: hypergraphia, hyperreligiosity, reduced sexuality, intensified mental life)? It's a sign of temporal lobe epilepsy.

I can't tell if this is addressed to me or OP, considering my religious posts on the forum lately. If me, yes I've heard of it.

 

[orewashin]

That is nonsense. A good parent serves the infant, the parent is the one with the power. God serves man because God has all the power and needs nothing.

People who consciously serve each other do not submit. It is a willing service provided for others who serve. Angels serve angels to quote Matt Kahn.

Domination, where by you extract energy from others below you is the alternative model. That is the one you are referring to.

OP is not yet complete and needs to extract energy, as do all power-hungry people.

The only free energy is from surrender to God, or in other words, letting go and living in non-resistance.

Once a person is powerful, they don't need energy from others, so they can give without depleting themselves.

The more artificial our environments and cultures become, the more our energy is depleted, and the more of a demand there is for natural, centered people.

To be a taker is a pathetic existence, and most people don't ever make it to becoming a giver.

 

[Runenight201]

I think one only needs to be in love to crush all notions of nihilistic or apathetic philosophies. The human who lives out of love can’t feel a purpose, while them in love can’t feel a life without one.

The more isolated become, the more disillusioned we feel, while those with a deep connection with first Life itself and then by extension their fellow human become entrenched in a world of meaning and purpose. The truth that the endless vat of the universe will swallow us up and become a small cold dark ball is overpowered by the feeling of love.

I believe that out of all the ways to live life, the Christian affirmation of love for Life/the Divine/God brings the strongest and most wholesome conscious states. We should live in communion with other, not at odds. In harmony, not disorder. In cooperation, not competition. For the flourishing of Life everywhere.

 

[Nigel Blake]

That is nonsense. A good parent serves the infant, the parent is the one with the power. God serves man because God has all the power and needs nothing.

You're conflating good deeds with servitude/service/serve. By your logic any good deeds for others are all acts of servitude which can't be true by the definition of servitude/service/serve which necessitates the one you're serving your superior. More importantly, your statement of God serving man is highly blasphemous and very satanic since you're suggesting an inverted hierarchy where those on top of the hierarchy are meant to serve those lower on the hierarchy

People who consciously serve each other do not submit. It is a willing service provided for others who serve. Angels serve angels to quote Matt Kahn.

You're suggesting that one can't willing submit which simply not true. People can willing submit to God or act in defiance to God but that's besides the point. Serving others is an act of submission especially when you compare the etymology definitions of the words which the words serve, servitude, and service share the same latin root word servus which means slave. Add in that you think serving others is higher goal than pursuing your own good and you have the recipe of a submissive servant.

Domination, where by you extract energy from others below you is the alternative model. That is the one you are referring to.

No I am not referring to resource/energy extraction and you are defining domination very wrongly. Domination is simply having dominion/rule over others. Do you think God or a king extract resources/energy from their subjects?

Here's the links to the definitions I mentioned earlier
serve | Origin and meaning of serve by Online Etymology Dictionary
service | Origin and meaning of service by Online Etymology Dictionary
servitude | Origin and meaning of servitude by Online Etymology Dictionary
domination | Origin and meaning of domination by Online Etymology Dictionary
submit | Origin and meaning of submit by Online Etymology Dictionary

 

[observer1961]

For myself my goal in life is that when I die and see God, he says "well done my good and faithful servant". That would be better than any fame or fortune. Gates, Bezoz, Soros etc... in eternity of what value will their weath be? It is a lofty goal but I think I will get help along the way.

 

[Nigel Blake]

Wew lad.

An actual response would be nice

 

[gately]

An actual response would be nice

Weeeeeeew lad.

 

[gately]

Actually Nigel, I'd be happy to elaborate on my 'wew lad' and 'Weeeeeeew lad' with an old Chinese parable. It goes something like this:

Back in ancient China there was this famous general who wrote a series of books on warfare, only he used a pseudonym to write them. But everyone with an education knew it was him, for whatever reason. Anyway, in this one village this dumb guy and smart guy keep having the same argument. The dumb guy thinks these famous books were written by someone other than that general, because of the pseudonym, and the smart guy keeps telling him he's wrong. But the dumb guy can't understand, because on top of being dumb, he's arrogant, and so doesn't grok the concept. So, day in and day out, the dumb guy keeps pestering the smart guy about it. Finally the smart guy is sick of it. He takes the dumb guy to the village elder, the smartest, beardiest mofo in town. He hands the books to the elder and says, "Would you please tell this numbskull that these books are written by that famous general. He won't leave me alone." And the elder looks at the books and back at the men and says, "These can't be written by the general, look at the name on the cover." The dumb guy immediately leaps to his feet and runs, shouting into town, "I'm smarter than the smart guy. I knew better! What an idiot!" The smart guy then asks the elder, "Why did you do that? You know very well the general wrote those books." And the elder says, "Yeah, but now that idiot isn't bothering you anymore."

I already had my suspicions, but you made it abundantly clear who I was dealing with when you gave your interpretation of Jesus' message. I have no interest in debating you. Feel free to run into town claiming victory.

 

[Nigel Blake]

Actually Nigel, I'd be happy to elaborate on my 'wew lad' and 'Weeeeeeew lad' with an old Chinese parable. It goes something like this:

I don't care what your wew lad came from, it is as meaningless as the term itself

I already had my suspicions, but you made it abundantly clear who I was dealing with when you gave your interpretation of Jesus' message. I have no interest in debating you. Feel free to run into town claiming victory.

If Jesus' message is not as universal inclusive as you think it is then Jesus wouldn't use a term such as neighbor which by its nature an exclusive term since not everyone is your neighbor but you seem to ignore it or not realize it which prompt to ask who is my neighbor or even if I had neighbors. Instead of engaging what I said you decided to insult me and leave the conversation which is typical of people who don't have anything to counter with. Feel free to run with your tail between your legs I won't stop you...

 

[gately]

I don't care what your wew lad came from, it is as meaningless as the term itself



If Jesus' message is not as universal inclusive as you think it is then Jesus wouldn't use a term such as neighbor which by its nature an exclusive term since not everyone is your neighbor but you seem to ignore it or not realize it which prompt to ask who is my neighbor or even if I had neighbors. Instead of engaging what I said you decided to insult me and leave the conversation which is typical of people who don't have anything to counter with. Feel free to run with your tail between your legs I won't stop you...

Man, I really just can't stop myself with you. You're easily the most incorrigible person I've ever talked to. I mean: holy guacamole. Yup, that's right dude. You definitely deciphered the Bible! Jesus meant LITERAL neighbors.

Jesus was like, "Listen...ya'll wanna know the two great commandments?"

And his disciples were like, "Yuhs bro. Hit us with dem two big bois, son."

"Alright," says, Jesus. "First. You gotta love the big man with mad respec. You dig?"

"We totally dig," said, Simon. "Big ups to the big man." (Here Simon made a fist and lightly pounded his heart twice, as a show of big ups.)

Jesus started walking away to go shrivel some whack fruit trees.

"Yo hol up J-dawg," says Bartholomew. "You forgot to tell us the second big boi commandment, ya heard?"

"Oh right," said Jesus. "The second law of the big boi commandments, upon which all the law and all the prophets hang...is uhh...well hey James, you know your neighbor Steve who is like, a total jerk and wouldn't let us drink wine in his manger the other day?"

"Yooo...for real bro, that dude sucks," says James.

"You gotta big ups love him, too," says Jesus.

"Damn," says James. "I hate that dude."

"What about other jerks? Do we gotta big ups love them, too?" says Andrew.

"Well, do these other jerks live literally next-door to you?" says Jesus.

"Nah." says Andrew. "They on the next street."

"Then you good, homie. Skreet! skreet! You only gotta love the big man and those who live literally next door to you, son. That's the law, dude. I just made that up right now. Look at me walk on this big puddle. Walking on watah baby. Someone write this down. But don't tell them what I look like. Jesus out."

 

[Goat-e]

You write like someone who’s at the very bottom but is contemplating his self-actualization in a kind of delusional state as though it were even a possibility at this time.

This is because OP is an artist of some sort. They may just not have found their true avenue to express themselves yet, but they are still an artist. True artists tend to inhabit both the 'bottom' of Maslow's triangle and the 'top' at the same time. That's partly where the creative force comes from, the contrast between those two extremes. This allows them to stare into the abyss and, potentially, bring something back which benefits those who are in the middle of the hierarchy. OP doesn't need to work his way through Maslow's hierarchy in a bid to become like everyone else, OP needs to find his or her true mode of expression. Then they will be serving others but in a way which is consistent with their true nature and not just one which fits into the majority view of what you should do with your life.

 

[schultz]

Having children gives me purpose.

 

[ecstatichamster]

Having children gives me purpose.

Yes. For me love of my wife, love of my children and helping others. I love my work. It is all combined to sweet purpose.

 

[ecstatichamster]

I think it is important to keep very busy. And not to ruminate.