Raison D'Etre
rai·son d'ê·tre /ˌrāzôn ˈdetrə/
noun
-
the most important reason or purpose for someone or something's existence.
Suppose someone asked you for your raison d'etre. What would your answer be?
For millennia Jews have lived and died with these words on their lips and hearts, "Shema Israel ... Hear O Israel, the Lord is God. The Lord alone. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might (cf. Deut. 6:4). Jesus appended the statement by adding, "And love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt 22:37-40) Pretty good as far as mission statements go. Clear. Concise. Comprehensive. The main thing is the main thing. Not a bad thought to wake up to each day. We could benefit from savoring the words and phrases, letting them sink into our heart.
Obviously loving God above all is the source from which all life flows. He is God alone. Nothing or nobody else is worthy of our worship: not a celebrity, a politician, our boss, our spouse, our kids, our jobs, our academics, sports or music. Yahweh is to be our first love. But, as Jesus clarified, when we love Yahweh above all, we will love our neighbor as ourselves. In other words, we will love those who bear his image. To Love God means that we will love others. Loving others is one of the ways in which we love God above all.
I recently ran across a statement that made me wonder if I really understand the interrelation of loving God and others to the extent that I need to, particularly when it comes to the importance of loving others. Alan Noble, in his book On Getting Out of Bed, says this, "We almost never take the witness of our actions seriously enough. I suspect that’s because if we did, it would frighten us. It’s scary to realize that my every decision communicates to people around me something about the nature of God, the goodness of His creation and laws." Who I believe God to be is constantly on display, especially in how I interact with those around me. Loving God. Loving others as I love myself. This is my raison d'etre.