The Purpose of Man – Piety
Many different interpretations for the purpose of man have been presented throughout history. For non-Christians trying to find the purpose of man is a challenge because it is not a black and white subject matter. It is not a mathematical equation either, it is a pin pointed fact. The goal of this essay is to define “Piety”. Piety is “the purpose of man” and essence of our being. Literally piety is reverence toward God, expressing religious devoutness. God defines the meaning of life and we fulfill it through our piety.
When God created mankind He had a purpose for mankind. God’s purpose as given to us by Jesus Christ is for us to have a loving relationship with God and with our fellow man. Jesus told us our purpose in Matthew 22:37-39 when He said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ” From God’s perspective everything we do is for His pious purpose. God holds us accountable to that purpose.
God will eventually judge all of us for our actions right or wrong. Ecclesiastes 3:17 states, “I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work”. With piety being the simple purpose of man clearly it is to please God. The meaning of life is to glorify, honor, and love God. Revelation 4:11 reads, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
” This is why God created us. He created us to love Him and worship Him. He created mankind with a soul that has the capability to love God just as God loves us. He desired for His unique creation, mankind, to freely love Him. The reason we get confused about the meaning of our lives is that God gave us a choice to freely love Him or not to love Him. God gives us this freedom to choose because He wants us to freely love Him. God wants us to be pious. He has to give us free will in order for us to love.
Our one pious purpose is to love and worship God. It is our pious acts of love that fulfills God’s purpose. That is all that He desires from us. If we love God, all things will work together for the good (Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”). Our lives fall into place when we are totally devoted, pious unto God. We know our purpose when we are fully committed to God. We are fulfilling our purpose when we worship God.
He will take care of us. We will not lack. He will bless us. He will give us eternal life because He desires to stay in loving relationship with us forever. The actions of piety are what God knows will bring us a fullness in our lives. The respected and intellectually deep Christian theologian St. Thomas Aquinas summed it up well in his work “Light of Faith: The Compendium of Theology” Where he sums up what could be the quintessential result of our pious acts “This ultimate end of man we call beatitude.
For a man’s happiness or beatitude consists in the vision whereby he sees God in His essence. ”(Aquinas 119) In conclusion, the purpose of man is to be pious, piety being defined as devout reverence and love of God. Works Cited Alvi, Eskander. “Fairness and self-interest: an assessment. ” The Journal of Socio- Economics 27. n2 (March-April 1998): 245(17). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Vanguard University SCELC. 3 Mar. 2008 The Holy Bible, New International Version. Michigan: Zondervan, 1985.
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