Barry's Blog

If you've looked at the best-seller displays in a bookstore recently, you've undoubtedly seen Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life.The book reached The New York Times bestseller list in January, 2003, and is now closing in on 25 million copies being sold, and will eclipse this number soon enough. Jim Dailey, executve editor of Decision magazine, a publication of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, sat down recently and interviewed Warren. I think you will find highlights from his interview with Warren to be challenging and inspiring. While some may quibble with Warren on various matters, no one can deny that he challenges us to think deeply about our lives: Are we living lives of purpose? Are we preparing ourselves for eternity? Will we finish well?

 
Q: Your book, The Purpose-Driven Life, is the best-selling hardcover non-fiction book in history. What do you think has made the book connect so passionately with people?

A: First, it deals with the most fundamental issue of life, and that is, "What on earth am I here for?" Everybody is interested in the question of existence, which is "Why am I alive?"; the question of intention, which is "What is my purpose?"; and the question of significance, which is "Does my life matter?"

Second, it is extremely simple. I worked very hard to make the message simple and understandable. I don't think there is a single thing new in the book that hasn't already been said in classic Christian books. It's just that each generation has to hear it again - that we are here for worship, evangelism, fellowship, discipleship, and ministry.

Third, the book is kind of the "anti-self-help book." The first line in the book reads, "It's not about you." It's funny that it is considered a self-help book. Try to name another self-help book that starts with "It's not about you." I think people are tired of self-centered, narcissistic culture. They are saying, "There's got to be something bigger than my own self-fulfillment in life." And, of course, there is. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

 
Q: So you want to help Christians gain a fresh perspective on the big picture? 

A: Yes. People ask me, "What is the purpose of life?" And I respond, "In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity." We were 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...This is a warm-up act, the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

 
Q: How do you apply these big-picture kinds of principles to your life?

A: It takes both discipline and habit. 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, in making your life holy rather than making your life happy...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 problems, 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.

 
Q: Where do I start? 

A: Ask yourself, "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? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, "God, if I don't get anything done today, I want to know You more and love You better." At the end of the day, if I've done that, the day was a success. On the other hand, if I get to the end of the day and I haven't gotten to know God better and love Him more, I just missed the first purpose of life, and I've wasted the day. 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. 

 
For FinishingWell,

Barry Morrow

 
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