Before we get into the business of digging lightly or deeply into the question of whether everything we see and touch around us, or for that matter in the entire universe, has a purpose, I share this funny poster at the auto repair shop I go to for an oil change. It is funny, of course, because the shop owner's wife who manages the office is the one who put it up there.
Then I found the photo below from somewhere.
These are sort of the minimalist expressions of "one tool, many purposes", philosophy for fixing as many broken stuff with one tool if possible or with what is available on hand.
On the other hand we may have this almost insane obsession with having "one tool, one purpose" philosophy of specialization taken to extremes.
Guilty as charged. My wife would make fun of me when I prepare and cook two kinds of dishes; then she observes me washing seventeen kitchen utensils and cookware, not including the dishes after we've consumed the meal. Do I need two fillet knives, five paring knives, three different cleavers, a vegetable knife separate from the chef's knife, two cheese knives, etc.? Some of you looking at the above photo will ask, "almost insane obsession"? Followed by, "That's unequivocally nutty", as some of you will add.
Like I said ..
Whew, now we got that out of the way. So, does everything have a purpose? Even mosquitoes, viruses, moles, birthmarks and the appendix? And what about cancer cells? And what's with the humongous seed in an avocado that far outweighs the rest of the fruit?"
The short answer is that everything has a purpose. Actually, when all is said and done, that is the only answer. Unfortunately, the moment we start the conversation, it will invariably gravitate to the question: "What is the purpose of the existence of the devil, why is there evil in the world?"
Let's pause for a minute. Let's start from the beginning - that is, from the beginning of creation. Wait, wait, you ask, "Why start from something or somewhere we have no means to travel back to? And why from all the way there?"
Well, we begin there because if we can establish that there was a purpose for creation then it follows that everything, from what cosmologists often describe as the primordial atom, should have and must have a purpose.
"Why?" is an entirely different question. Why did the Creator create the universe? That is the one question that is philosophically and theologically difficult to answer, if one is not deeply immersed in theology. It is almost like asking also, "Did the Creator have a choice in creating the universe?" We will not go there as well. As Stephen Hawking said, "That would be like trying to read the mind of God". We too will not venture there.
Biblically we can start with, Genesis chapter one, verse 3 "And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.…
Now, cosmologically, the Big Bang theory says, "that the universe began as an infinitely small, hot, and dense point, which rapidly expanded in an instant.. usually depicted as an intense bright light.
The similarity between the two views is brightly clear with the suddenness of instantaneity as, "Let there be light" and the rapid expansion of everything in 10 to the minus 36 second (10 preceded by 36 zeros), from a single point-source that was infinitely hot and dense that kept on expanding for over 13.7 billion years now and still expanding as we speak.
Genesis 1:3 and the beginning of the universe per the Big Bang Theory are for all intents and purposes similar. There, I managed to sneak in the word "purposes". So first, Biblically there was darkness and then there was light; from cosmology, there was nothing, then there was something.
Carefully, we see that the "principle of duality in the universe suggests that opposing forces are interconnected and essential for balance. In cosmology, dualism often refers to the belief in two fundamental concepts that coexist, influencing the structure and behavior of the universe".
Universal Duality also restricts us to view everything around us as either big or small, fast or slow, heavy and light, thin and thick, positive and negative, north and south and on and on.
In the beginning just prior to the creation of atoms, later to combine into molecules, elementary particles started with negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons that made for the creation of atoms, to molecules and later complex compounds that gave us the basic makeup of matter, then on to heavier building blocks.
Lightning is one of nature's most powerful phenomena. Around the world 100 lightning strikes occur every second or 8.6 million strikes each day, as the negatively charged atmosphere and the positively charged ground produces the powerful spark, no different from touching two wires with the two opposing charges. These strikes are responsible for breaking up nitrogen molecules in the air and combining with hydrogen that results in a compound known as NH3. Rain will bring it down to the ground as ammonium hydroxide - ammonia, which is essentially a natural fertilizer. The ancients believed that the gods used lightning to punish people. As rare an occurrence of lightning killing people or livestock, people still asked why? Or, to conclude that such was the purpose for lightning.
Metaphorically, a lightning rod is a person or thing that attracts criticism or blame, or politically describing a scapegoat or the focus of public ire. As a result we forget the real purpose of lightning.
Viruses and bacteria are two of many pathogens known to man. But they also played a vital role in our development as a successful species. Either they triggered mutations to improve our physiology or that survivors of infection not only passed it on to their progenies and that those who lived on were ably adaptable against infections. Bacteria in our gut are responsible for breaking down nutrients in the food we eat. Bacteria as in yeast gives rise (literally speaking and pun intended) to better and delicious bread.
Human skin pigments were adaptations based on the intensity of the sun's radiation. Those located at or near the equator were the sun's intensity was at maximum, skin color became darker to protect the skin. Humans that migrated northwards into the temperate and colder climate were the sun's intensity was at a minimum in strength and duration, the skin turned paler to absorb the right amount of Vitamin D from the sun's rays. Adaptation to difference in sun's intensity dictated the difference in skin pigments. The adaptation was precisely controlled so that those located in between the temperate and equatorial zones developed just the right amount of absorption of Vitamin D by having brown skin pigment. Dark/light duality rules were enforced.
There are countless more examples but suffice it to say that from the beginning of creation, Biblically or cosmologically (as described by science), purposes for and of everything came baked into the entire system.
But what about the existence of the devil? So it comes down to this, "Did God create the devil?" I brought up answering this question because I broached the idea about the history of purpose(s) to have started at the beginning of the creation of the universe. The quick answer is that if we must rely on the belief that God created the universe, then God did create the devil. For what purpose is the next question.
I am treading on thin ice here because I am neither a theologian or a philosopher. Will pragmatic thinking count? Let's go back to several paragraphs earlier where, "principle of duality in the universe suggests that opposing forces are interconnected and essential for balance".
Did God have the power to create only good beings? God has already done that; we call them angels. So, here comes what I call the pragmatic approach. God created humans to have free will. The free will to do good or bad is the purpose for why the devil was created (keeping in mind the universal duality). It allows us to make a choice. That would seem to be the practical answer, isn't it? The freedom to choose is both a gift and a burden. It is presented to us as a choice between which path to take everyday we are on the road that we call life. Simply put, our life's journey will always take us to countless series of crossroads. It is the proverbial fork on the road where the choices we make are what will determine our fate. The devil's purpose is to entice or lead us to choices that are contrary to what God would want us to make. God gave us the power of free will, but it comes with a cost or reward.
It is not a theological answer but the purpose of this musing is not to make it one. All that is perhaps worth remembering is that we are endowed with the power to choose. And a responsibility to do what our conscience has equipped us to do. Conscience is what influences behavior based on a lot of things, for example, our upbringing, our education, our environment and most of all, the path we preferred or the direction we choose, every time we are called upon to exercise our free will.
P.S.
In prehistoric times the ancestors of avocados were dined on by large plant eaters that merely swallowed the fruit whole without biting into the seed which was bitter anyway (like most seeds). The avocado seed was dispersed that way through the animal's poop. The seed is large and packed with nutrients that gave it a huge advantage in development as a well endowed seedling. The plant eaters that dined on it became extinct so why did the avocado not evolve with smaller seeds to adapt to smaller foragers? Perhaps it was then when human agriculture developed. Ancient farmers merely replanted avocado seeds thus ensuring the survival of the fruit to this day.
Orchids are another example of extraordinary adaptation. In the wild, they produce blooms to attract insects to pollinate the flowers. Today, they are well adapted in people's homes and nurseries - one of the most extraordinary adaptations using the smartest creatures (us) to propagate and even develop new strains of beautiful flowers. In 2026, people around the world will spend an estimated $2.3 billion on orchids and estimates of $4.5 billion in 2035. And orchids, as a hobby by humans, live in comfort and care in people's homes.
But we've become smarter too. Orchids kept indoors do not have insects to pollinate their flowers. However, that is precisely why their blooms last a lot longer, waiting for the insect pollinator that will not show up, because as soon as the blooms are pollinated they will wilt to turn into seeds. So, in a way, by keeping them in the comfort of our homes we get to enjoy their blooms longer.
I spent a good amount of my woodworking hobby building an orchid tree at one of the coziest corners of our home. And these plants don't even bloom year round. I spend a good amount of late spring to late fall tending to them until they start blooming in late winter. These plants adapted themselves into a pampered life. What is their purpose? You know the answer.
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