Is There a Reason for Being?

I don’t typically read the column in Parade magazine written by Marilyn vos Savant.  I confess to feeling a bit put off by claims that she has the highest IQ ever recorded, or that, at least at one time, she did.  I don’t think knowing ones IQ is particularly helpful, or that IQ is a good measure of success in life.

In any event, I happened to read her column on May 29, 2016.  A man who made a point of being a Mensa member said that he and other members had been debating a certain question for years. 

“What is the reason we are here?”

I did like her response in this case.  She pointed out that whether there is a reason for ones existence is dependent on ones spiritual beliefs. 

“If you don’t believe in a god, the question contradicts your thinking.  Having a reason implies having a purpose, which indicates an intelligent being (or cognitive power), with intent.  That’s what people call a god.  So if you don’t believe a god exists, you can’t believe a reason exists.  You must settle for assuming we got here through some natural process, and that’s that.”

In other words, you are a purposeless accident.  Perhaps, you are a happy accident, but none-the-less, an accident.

It seems to me that anyone who is smart enough for Mensa should have figured this out himself/herself.  If this was a group discussion, it seems someone in the group should have happened on this viewpoint without writing to a “savant.”  I suspect that many intelligent people actually do know this, but don’t want to accept it. 

Answering this question has little to do with intelligence.  We would all like to believe that there is a reason for our existence.  If we don’t believe it, suicide seems to be an attractive option.  I remember struggling with this as a teenager and deciding that I could only find a purpose for being through my faith…..not through my intellect.

 But for many, faith is not an attractive option.  If there is a god, he might expect something of me.  He might have some claim on my life.  His reason for my existence might not line up with my plans, and I do want to have my own way.

I am convinced that most atheists don’t arrive at that belief by rational, logical decision.  They arrive at that point because the possibility of a god doesn’t line up well with their desire for self-determination.  Since the existence of a god cannot be proven or disproven logically, something else comes into play in determining whether or not one believes.  I think that something is our own desire to be in charge.

Personally, I have no desire to be in charge of my life.  I cannot know the future.  I cannot see where my decisions will lead me.  I would much prefer to trust my life to an all-knowing God.  He has a reason for my being here and knows how I fit into His plan.

To quote King Solomon, one of the most intelligent and wisest of men, whose IQ isn’t recorded for us:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.  Proverb 3: 5-7