人生的目的

华理克（Rick Warren）

 

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畅销书《标竿人生》（Purpose Driven Life）的作者华理克牧师，也是着名的加州马鞍山教会的牧师；数年前他接受访谈，对于「人生的目的」发表一段精辟的看法，事后在网路上广为流传。当时他的书热卖，太太却罹患了乳癌。如今他太太已痊愈，并充满活力地服事神。以下是当年华理克牧师的谈话：

　 有人问我，人生的目的是甚么？

我答道：简单的说，人生是为永恒作预备。我们被造，原本就不是要长生不老；神乃是要我们与他同住在天堂。有一天我的心脏会停止跳动，那是我身体完结的时候，但却不是「我」的终点。

我在地上可能活个60至100年，但在永恒里却将待上无数年。此生只是一场暖身活动和彩排，将来我们在永恒里所要作的，神要我们在地上先练习练习。

我们是被神所造，也是为他而造的；除非你弄清楚这点，否则生命是没有意义的。

人生就是一连串的问题：你若非正在一个问题中，就是刚从一个问题里出来，再不就是正要进入另一个问题。

人生为何如此？那是因为神关注你的性格（character），超过你的安逸（comfort）；他希望让你的生活圣洁（holy），超过让你的生活快乐（happy）。

我们在地上的生活，可以是相当快乐的，但那并非生活的目的。生活的目的是让性格成长，变得更像基督。

过去这一年，是我一生中最棒的一年，同时也是最艰难的一年，因我太太凯伊罹患了癌症。

过去我总以为，人生就像许多高山和低谷：你会经过一段幽暗的时刻，然后到达山峰，如此周而复始。但现在我不再这么认为了。

与其说人生是许多高山和低谷，倒不如说它像铁道的两条铁轨，好事和坏事总是同时并存在你的生活中。

不论你的生活中有多少美好的事，总会存在一些不好的事，是需要你去克服的。反之，不管你遭遇多少坏事，总还有一些好事是你可以感谢神的。

你可以专注在你的目标上，或者专注在你的烦恼上：如果你专注在自己的烦恼上，你将成为自我中心，心里充满「我的烦恼」、「我的问题」、「我的痛苦」。但摆脱痛苦的最简单方法之一，就是将焦点从自己身上转向神和别人。

　虽然有数十万人为凯伊代祷，我们很快发现：神不打算透过超自然的方式医治她，或让她感到轻松一点。这疗程对她而言非常艰难，但神却使她的性格坚强，并交给她一个助人的职务，赐给她一项见证，使她更亲近神，也更亲近人。

你必须学习处理人生中的好事和坏事。事实上，学习处理好事，有时更不容易。例如，过去这年，由于我的书大卖1500万本，我一下子变得非常富有。它也使我一夕爆红，我必须去处理这些从未有过的名声。

我不相信神赐给你钱财和名声，是为了满足你的自负，或让你过一个优渥的生活。因此我开始求问神：他要我怎样使用这些钱财、名声和影响力。他给我两段经文，帮助我作出决定，就是哥林多后书9章和诗篇72篇。

首先，虽然有大笔钱财进帐，我们决定丝毫不改变自己的生活方式，也没有购买任何重大物品。其次，大约从去年年中起，我停止从教会支薪。第三，我们成立基金会，资助一项我们称之为「和平方案」的计画，来拓植教会、装备领袖、帮助穷人、照顾病人、教育下一代。第四，我将过去24年来，就是从我建立这间教会以来，教会所付给我的薪资全部加起来，还给教会。能够免费服事神，真是自由。
我们须要问自己：我要为何而活？钱财？名声？我要被甚么所驱策？压力？罪恶感？苦毒？物质主义？还是要受神在我身上的目的所驱策？

当我早晨起来，我坐在床边说：神啊！如果今天我一事无成，我还是要更认识你，更爱你。

　神把我放在这地上，不是只要我做完一张待办清单。他关注我所是，超过我所做。这就是为何我们被称为「人类」 （human beings），而非「人工」（human doings）。

快乐时刻，赞美神。困难时刻，寻求神。安静时刻，敬拜神。痛苦时刻，信任神。任何时刻，感谢神。

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.