In the End, What's the Point?

In our lifetime, how many times do we ask the question, or a derivative of the question, "What is the point?" I would venture to say that it is many more times than I can count on my hands and toes. "What's the point" is very similar to the question, "What's the meaning?" Some might word it like this: "Why am I even here?" Still others might ask "Why are we doing this?" or "Why are they making me do this?"

At the core of this question is a very real, simple desire to just know "why." Whether it is to know the impact of what work that a person is doing, or to have some inspiration to continue doing what they are being asked to do, the desire to know "why," at it's core, is safe, healthy, and sometimes even honorable. This of course comes with the understanding that the question is being asked with humility and a genuine desire to know more.

However, reality sets in on my ideological thought bubble here and reminds me that most times when the question "what's the point" is raised, it has gained a notorious connotation with arrogance, self-preservation, and rebellion. Whether that is accurate or not, it has begun to carry that weight in our society. Parents, who were raised with the understanding that they simply do what they are told, are now faced with "why" more times than they care to respond. Authority figures, like teachers, police officers, and government leaders, face a barrage of interrogatives pointed at the core of what they are trying to accomplish. More examples could fit into this discussion, but the point of this post is not in the discussion, it is in the response.

The reality is that more and more people, not just teenagers and young adults, are asking the question "what's the point," a whole lot more and being faced with illogical responses that ultimately point to a simple response of, "Because I said so." The problem with this is that it is inside human nature to desire information and knowledge, however it is not inside human nature to be selfless in our knowledge and to give away our understanding of a topic. The reality to me is, our response indicates our intentions and could be the difference between someone catching vision or someone becoming your biggest opponent.

1 John 4:1 calls us to ask this question, often: "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." We are supposed to challenge ideas; to demand a reason for a given action. So, the question is, how do we respond? And, perhaps a more relevant question, how do we respond when the only thing we have to explain our reasoning for such zealous presentation of a vision is the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Do we simply say, I told you so?