“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

I often speak, write and teach about money.  I am a personal finance practitioner and all my endeavors lead to the advocacy of financial freedom.

Money is definitely important… to have a financially prosperous life is a goal for people to have. However, the goal does not end in financial prosperity but rather the purpose of such prosperity. Money is a tool and its use dictates its morality.  Having money should not be the end goal… in fact being happy because of the money shouldn’t also be the end goal.

Money is important. Being happy is important. However, I believe life is beyond that. Life has a purpose and finding that purpose is the key in our proverbial quest for true happiness.  Achieving financial freedom is merely a process that we need to go through and should not be the final destination. But achieving financial freedom is very crucial in the achievement of our goals in life, like I said earlier, they are tools.

When we set out our goals, do we know our purpose? When we plan our lives, do we see the end goal? These questions are simplistic and yet many people do not have the answers for such inquisitions– they go through life trying to find an answer to a question and yet they do not know what the question is.

What is the purpose behind our quest for financial freedom? Is it about convenience? Is it about security? Finding out our purpose is the key to the many questions we ask – financial or otherwise.

For me, I found my purpose.

“…who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

(2 Timothy 1:9-10, NIV)