Theosis: the true purpose of human life

(Good day brothers, praised be Jesus Christ, its been a long time.
I came across an article that was very inspiring and decided to share it, wisdom from our Eastern orthodox brethren, I don't know exactly if the teaching is acceptable in catholic thought however this felt very relatable to me and other young men who fall trap of pursuing holiness through the trap of "virtue maxxing" the idea that the devil uses your good and righteous desire to be holy against you by giving you scruples and keeping you fixated on what you lack and this way keeping you from participating in the work of the Kingdom with your fullness (a form of sub conscious idolatry) , I hope the following article helps you men as well, so without further ado:)


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This may challenge your perspective, but the truth is that genuine fulfilment, happiness and inner peace cannot be found purely in self-improvement (masked in purpose) until you look beyond yourself toward a higher purpose, that is outside of yourself.This very reflection exposes the error of alternative pathways that deviate from Church's anthropology which, as Elder George reminds us, places man at the highest standing among all philosophies, religions, and secular psychologies that have attempted to infiltrate the healing process of man found only within the Church
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When you put yourself at the center, trying to improve every aspect of life through health, wealth, looks maxxing and more... You move away from your higher purpose.

Today this is seen everywhere, especially on Instagram where lifestyle influencers present lives that look perfect, as if they have upgraded every detail through 'self-improvement'. Yet many are miserable, while others look to them as idols.

This idea of "self-improvement", which has captured man's attention and stripped him of real purpose, comes from Western thought that goes back centuries at the dawn of humanism (a.k.a moving away from Christ as center to "self-improvement"). The highest ideal became moral improvement, placing man as an individual at the center, forgetting the truth of scripture: "God created man in His image and likeness." (Gen 1:27) This means that He wishes us to be like Himself by grace.

Elder George says: "If man cannot be deified through divine grace and the divine energies, what purpose does his life have? Merely to become morally better? But moral perfection is not enough for man... Our ultimate aim is to be united with God Himself... this is what we desire. This is our joy, our happiness, and our fulfillment."

Therefore, we must rid ourselves of egocentric living, where we think we are the whole purpose and rely only on our own efforts.

Instead, we turn to the Theanthropos, the God-Man Christ, who is the true center. The- meaning "God" & anthropos- meaning "man".

At Once we see that "the center of the world is not yourself, but Christ," the path to theosis begins in humility, the first condition towards divinization (YOUR TRUE PURPOSE).


Elder George also says:

"If he is not on the path of theosis, he feels emptiness within himself; he feels that something is not going right."

In turn, This emptiness is often hidden beneath self-centered activities that claim to improve life, but in truth only mask unhappiness.

inspired from "Theosis: the true purpose of human life" by Archimandrite George Kapsanis of Blessed Memory