Why do you do what you do?

Have you ever wondered why you do what you do? Why do you buy overpriced clothing at American Eagle when you can save money by shopping for clothes at Target? Why do you sacrifice relationships and enjoyment to get good grades so that you can get into a good college? Why do you befriend certain people and ridicule and avoid other people? I believe that all of these things stem from how you view the world--your worldview.

Your worldview tells you how you see and interpret the world around you and it influences how you interact with the world. It answers questions like why is the world the way it is? How is life designed to function? Why am I here on earth? What is the source of true happiness? What is really real? Your worldview is a driving force behind why you do what you do. So if your worldview tells you that money makes a person happy then you will give your life to pursuing money (that is, if you want to be happy). If you think you'll feel good about yourself if you're liked by other people then you will do whatever it takes to be accepted by people. Get the point?

Now I've been a part of several Christian worldview courses in my lifetime and let me tell you that I have always felt like something was missing in them. Why? Well, none of them actually changed how I lived nor did they motivate me to change how I live (which I thought was the whole point of taking the course in the first place). To be honest, most of them put me to sleep! What I have since concluded is that these courses taught me the proper foundations for a God-centered worldview but failed to include the heartbeat behind a worldview--the meta-narrative. A meta-narrative is an overarching story that gives meaning and significance to everything. It's the BIG story that explains all the LESSER stories in our lives. It's a grand story that we look to to provide answers to everything we encounter, experience, and wonder about in life. Why did God allow my mom to die? What should I do with my life? Is there any hope in this messed up world? Why can people be so mean? How should I express my sexuality? Why is there so much starvation in the world?

And so, the meta-narrative is what gives a worldview relevance and significance to our lives. For instance, a Biblical worldview teaches that God created a perfect universe, that man is sinful by nature, and that a spiritual reality exists around us. Well great...but why should I give a rip? Well, the meta-narrative answers that question. And so a worldview void of a meta-narrative will remain in the classroom and in the arena of ideas...whereas a worldview that includes a meta-narrative will enable people to bring it into the arena of their everyday lives!

I believe that many Christians have the proper foundation for a God-centered worldview but yet their worldview is still deficient. Sure they hold all the correct God-centered stances on science, history, anthropology, theology, sociology, morality, etc. but still do not have a complete worldview. Why? They've left the meta-narrative out. They've failed to see how their stances on science, history, anthropology, theology, sociology, and morality fit into and relate to God's meta-narrative as given in the Bible. This is also why so many people can go to church on Sunday, hear a great sermon, and do nothing in response. The sermon while reinforcing a Christian worldview was not linked to God's meta-narrative. As a result, many sermons remain in the arena of ideas and not in the arena of actual life. So what is the meta-narrative given in the Bible? Stay tuned!