The Pitfall of No Purpose

1 Kings 9:1

And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,

Solomon found purpose when he became king by having something to build. King David, Solomon’s father, prepared for Solomon to build the temple of the LORD. Immediately upon taking the throne, Solomon set out to build the temple. It took him seven years to build the temple of the LORD, and fourteen years to build his own house. However, Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD. This now became a perilous time in his life because he had no purpose for his life. Not long after he finished building the house of the LORD, we see a bad introduction into his life. 1 Kings 11:1 says, But king Solomon loved many strange women. Solomon’s lack of conquering something for God led him to desire to conquer something in sin. All you have to do is read the book of Ecclesiastes and see that his lack of purpose to do something for God led to a life of trying to conquer something in sin.

One of the most dangerous times in one’s life is when they have nothing to conquer. Many men of God have done well in trying to build a church, but once they built something, they got comfortable and stopped growing. The absence of growth led to the addition of compromise. Many believers live a life of sin because they have nothing to conquer in their Christian walk. There is something about having a Godly purpose for living that keeps you from living a life of sin. If you have no purpose to drive you to conquer something for God, you will likely try to conquer something in sin. Let me share a few thoughts about how you can avoid the pitfall of living life without purpose.

First, always have a vision to do more. The moment you stop having a vision to conquer is when you stop living by faith. Vision is the purpose that gives you the courage to step out by faith. Every person needs a vision of doing something for God. That vision is what occupies your mind and keeps you focused on doing right. If you have no vision to occupy your mind, sin will quickly occupy the place that a vision for God once occupied.

Second, get involved in your church. Involvement in ministry gives you a purpose for God. That purpose for God keeps you living a cleaner life for God. For instance, the Sunday school teacher who has their heart in their class will try to live right because they don't want to destroy the confidence in those they teach by falling prey to sin. You need to be involved in some ministry in your church so you don't fall prey to the pitfall of no purpose.

Third, always be building something for God. The purpose of building something for God is to keep you busy doing something for God. If you are not busy building something for God, you will be busy sinning. One reason a pastor always needs new projects for the church is to keep the church focused on doing something for God. As a believer, you must have something to build to keep you occupied.

God made us to conquer, and if we are not conquering something for God, we will find something in sin to conquer. The pitfall of many pastors and believers is they stopped conquering, which gave them time to pursue sin. Always have something else to conquer or build for God and you have a better chance of not falling prey to the pitfall of no purpose.