On February of 2006 in Monterey California, Rick Warren gave a speech at the TED center about “A Life of Purpose”. Warren starts off by introducing himself as the author of “The Purpose Driven Life” and goes on to say that he is often asked why so many people are still reading the book even several months or so later. The reason he gives is because the world is faced every day with “spiritual emptiness”. This kind of hit me; God is not physically present and often times it is hard to know that He is there. We long for Him and we have this “spiritual emptiness” that needs to be filled because without Him we really do not have a purpose. Rick Warren says that we live day to day saying, “I’m living”, but what happens is we wake up, go to school, come home, do homework, eat dinner, watch tv, and then go to bed. In the end nothing ever changes. What is the point of all that? What do we get in the end? What’s our purpose? There has to be more to life. The truth is, we DO matter, we DO have a purpose. We may not have been planned by our parents, but we were planned by God. So the question now is, since we do have a purpose, what is it? Warren introduces 3 kinds of living; Survival, Success, and Significance. The difference between these is what you’re here for. He says that he has met a lot of smart people, but they still can’t figure out their problems; a lot of successful people, but they still do not feel fulfilled; a lot of people who feel fake, and people who feel like they have to pretend that I am more than I really am. But why do they feel this way? It comes down to the issue of meaning, significance, and purpose. It is not a religious issue, but more of a human issue.
He asked himself what the purpose of his own book was. It brought millions of dollars in and a lot of attention, but the money and fame do not come only to build your own ego. He said that was not his purpose at all...so what was the purpose? The first sentence of his book even said, “It is not about you”. So what is it for? He brought up the point of stewardship of affluence and stewardship of influence. If you are a leader in any area, you do not own it, you are a steward of it. He takes stewardship over the planet, but he does not have ownership. He mentioned that he was once in a debate and the other side asked him why he protected the environment as a pastor. Warren responded by challenging him with the question, “Do you believe human beings are responsible to make the world a little bit better place for the next generation. Do we have stewardship to take the environment seriously?”. He answered, “No, not anymore than any other species”. This statement shows his worldview. Everyone has their own worldview; it determines your relationship, your confidence, your decisions, your beliefs, and your behavior which determines what you become in life. Warren says, “The test of your worldview is not how you act in your good times, but how you act at the funeral.”
Every time you give, it breaks materialism which is all about getting. Materialism is mostly about having more, looking good, feeling good, and having the goods. But life is not about looking, feeling, or having the goods, it is about being good and doing good. Warren states that, “Significance in life does not come from status because you can always find someone who has more than you; it does not come from sex; it does not come from salary; it comes from serving. It is in giving our lives away that we find meaning. That is the way we were Wired by God.” He goes back to the topic of the money and attention that he has received from his book and says what he does with his money, but he is still unsure as to how to handle the attention. He takes a look at Psalm 72 which is a prayer written by Solomon for more influence, which sounds selfish. In this chapter, Solomon said that he wanted God to make him famous, spread his name through every land, and give him power and influence. At the end he said he wanted these things, so that he, the king, may care for the widow and orphan, support the afflicted, defend the defenseless, care for sick, assist the poor, and speak up for the foreign and those in prison. The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence. Warren gives the story of Moses as an example to show how God works and what purpose is. Moses goes out to the burning bush and God says,“Moses what is in your hand?” Moses replies, “It is a shepherd’s staff.” God says, “Throw it down.” So Moses throws it down and it becomes a snake. He picks it back up and it goes back to a staff. The question is- what is the significance of this? God knew the answer to the question He asked Moses, but He asks more for our own sake. Warren talks about Moses’ staff and explains the 3 things that it represents; identity as a shepherd, income due to his money towards sheep, and influence of directing sheep. So when you go back to God’s question of what’s in your hand, the answer is, identity, income, and influence. God is basically saying, if you lay those things down, He will make it come alive. Warren gives another example of purpose by asking an NBA basketball player, “What’s in your hand?”. The player responded and said, “A basketball.” It is not just a basketball though. It represents identity, income, and influence. He won’t be playing in the NBA forever, but he will be a basketball player forever. His purpose is found in who God made him to be and what talents God gave him.
Rick Warren concludes by asking, “What do you have that you have been given and what are you doing with it?”. God has made each and everyone of us with a different talent, and we must allow those things to shape us into the people that God wants us to be. “Look at what is in your hand; identity, income, influence and say it is not about me, it is about making the world a better place.”
Rhetoric is seen throughout the speech several times. Rick Warren uses great hand motion and proper tone in order to keep his audience’s attention. In his speech, he focuses on the points in which people are able to relate to so that he is better able to connect to them. He understands that sometimes people often feel like they do not have a purpose, but he brings to our attention that we do have a purpose in God. He also uses good organization in his speech and makes sure to backup all his points with an example and reliable source that demonstrates further what he is trying to say, as well as, makes him a trustworthy person. Rick Warren is a great speaker and was able to get his point across in a clear way for the audience to be able to follow.
He asked himself what the purpose of his own book was. It brought millions of dollars in and a lot of attention, but the money and fame do not come only to build your own ego. He said that was not his purpose at all...so what was the purpose? The first sentence of his book even said, “It is not about you”. So what is it for? He brought up the point of stewardship of affluence and stewardship of influence. If you are a leader in any area, you do not own it, you are a steward of it. He takes stewardship over the planet, but he does not have ownership. He mentioned that he was once in a debate and the other side asked him why he protected the environment as a pastor. Warren responded by challenging him with the question, “Do you believe human beings are responsible to make the world a little bit better place for the next generation. Do we have stewardship to take the environment seriously?”. He answered, “No, not anymore than any other species”. This statement shows his worldview. Everyone has their own worldview; it determines your relationship, your confidence, your decisions, your beliefs, and your behavior which determines what you become in life. Warren says, “The test of your worldview is not how you act in your good times, but how you act at the funeral.”
Every time you give, it breaks materialism which is all about getting. Materialism is mostly about having more, looking good, feeling good, and having the goods. But life is not about looking, feeling, or having the goods, it is about being good and doing good. Warren states that, “Significance in life does not come from status because you can always find someone who has more than you; it does not come from sex; it does not come from salary; it comes from serving. It is in giving our lives away that we find meaning. That is the way we were Wired by God.” He goes back to the topic of the money and attention that he has received from his book and says what he does with his money, but he is still unsure as to how to handle the attention. He takes a look at Psalm 72 which is a prayer written by Solomon for more influence, which sounds selfish. In this chapter, Solomon said that he wanted God to make him famous, spread his name through every land, and give him power and influence. At the end he said he wanted these things, so that he, the king, may care for the widow and orphan, support the afflicted, defend the defenseless, care for sick, assist the poor, and speak up for the foreign and those in prison. The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence. Warren gives the story of Moses as an example to show how God works and what purpose is. Moses goes out to the burning bush and God says,“Moses what is in your hand?” Moses replies, “It is a shepherd’s staff.” God says, “Throw it down.” So Moses throws it down and it becomes a snake. He picks it back up and it goes back to a staff. The question is- what is the significance of this? God knew the answer to the question He asked Moses, but He asks more for our own sake. Warren talks about Moses’ staff and explains the 3 things that it represents; identity as a shepherd, income due to his money towards sheep, and influence of directing sheep. So when you go back to God’s question of what’s in your hand, the answer is, identity, income, and influence. God is basically saying, if you lay those things down, He will make it come alive. Warren gives another example of purpose by asking an NBA basketball player, “What’s in your hand?”. The player responded and said, “A basketball.” It is not just a basketball though. It represents identity, income, and influence. He won’t be playing in the NBA forever, but he will be a basketball player forever. His purpose is found in who God made him to be and what talents God gave him.
Rick Warren concludes by asking, “What do you have that you have been given and what are you doing with it?”. God has made each and everyone of us with a different talent, and we must allow those things to shape us into the people that God wants us to be. “Look at what is in your hand; identity, income, influence and say it is not about me, it is about making the world a better place.”
Rhetoric is seen throughout the speech several times. Rick Warren uses great hand motion and proper tone in order to keep his audience’s attention. In his speech, he focuses on the points in which people are able to relate to so that he is better able to connect to them. He understands that sometimes people often feel like they do not have a purpose, but he brings to our attention that we do have a purpose in God. He also uses good organization in his speech and makes sure to backup all his points with an example and reliable source that demonstrates further what he is trying to say, as well as, makes him a trustworthy person. Rick Warren is a great speaker and was able to get his point across in a clear way for the audience to be able to follow.
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