Misplaced Purpose

Walk into any bookstore. Glance around and your eyes begin to feed your brain book title after book title. A certain cover catches your eye and as with most, the title doesn't make sense immediately until you take the time to investigate the cover or read the back of the book. Still left wondering if the 200-400 pages are worth the time, you move from section to section, looking for that newly printed adventure or interesting read. Sure that you're in control of what choices you make in the literature you'll be interested in reading.
But have no illusions. You are now under the spell of psychological manipulation. Publishers and authors are using well researched marketing techniques to get you to see their book, pick it up, and to ultimately spend your hard earned dollars on it.
For you the buyer (AKA "the consumer,") the goal is an interesting, entertaining or educational read. But for the publishing house, the printer, and the author, the goal is to make money. Create something interesting people in today's society want to read, are willing to give time out of their lives to devote to reading, and you'll sell books. Every author knows this and its a hard lesson for budding writers itching to share their stories with the world but yet lack the catch that will make for a good selling book.
Some authors write books for other reasons (conviction over a certain topic or dedication to the art,) but overall the goal of writing books is for the money that is generated in the process and the satisfaction by the author that their issue is voiced or their tale is told.
Such is the case with the author turned pastor Rick Warren. As the pastor of Saddleback (huh?) Church in southern California, Rick Warren has become seemingly the media's spokesperson for the evangelical Christian church. After authoring a book entitled "The Purpose-Driven Life," (which has spawned offshoots of "Purpose" books about the Church, Christmas and, well the sky's' the limit as to what one can purposefully do,) Rick Warren has made himself and his publishing house very rich. The money made on the book spawned a large following that Warren has used to fill the seats of his church, and now broadcasts his Sunday sermons around the country to other smaller satellite congregations. A wonderful accomplishment if he is to be measured by financial or worldly success.
The problem with Rick Warren however is that his success has come at the expense of his topic. The meaning of the Christian faith, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Through the misuse of biblical references, called proof-texting, Warren has drawn from the text of scripture examples that he then uses to prove points about the bible that he, not scripture itself, has proposed. In doing this, he allows his message to be about personal fulfillment and prosperity, and not the fundamental but difficult truths the bible has to offer sinners. In fact the word "sin" is hardly even used in the book at all.
When a book that proclaims Christ attempts to shift the emphasis from the eternal to the temporal, here and now successes of this life, and finding our "purpose," as if we are the most important element in salvation, not God, we must wonder why and for whom "The Purpose-Driven Life" was written.
Recently Warren appeared on the program Hannity and Colmes on Fox News Channel to promote his Christmas interpretation (emphasis added by Warren himself) that he's presenting in his new book on the subject. By observing Warren, his demeanor, and by listening closely to the words he uses during the interview, one can easily question this man's devotion to Christ, the Bible, and to the critical elements of salvation.
The Hard Truth is that there is a purpose for we who are Christians. To seek to bring glory to God in all we do and to live a sanctified life, seeking to grow in our understanding and knowledge of our savior, Jesus Christ.
To assume life is anything else is misplaced purpose. Pray the men and women in Rick Warren's congregations do not live by the Purpose-Driven anything, but by the Word of God.

The full text and video of Warren's interview can be viewed here on Steve Camp's blog