We’ve all said things like:

• “I thought this would feel more meaningful.”
• “I’ve done everything right, but I still feel off.”
• “I just don’t know what I believe anymore.”

But when a man hits a wall—and it happens even to men who seem like they have it all together—it can usually be traced back to this:

Your worldview is perfectly designed to produce the results you’re getting.

Imagine a car factory where every third car rolls off the assembly line missing the front right fender. The problem isn’t the car. The problem is the system that produced it. This business principle also applies to life.

If a man consistently feels restless, anxious, or empty, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s weak or failing. It may simply mean the worldview he’s using to make sense of life cannot produce the peace, purpose, and joy he longs for.

A worldview is the collection of beliefs we use to answer life’s biggest questions: What is ultimately real? Why am I here? What makes something right or wrong? Who am I? Is there a God? Whether we realize it or not, every decision we make flows from the answers we’ve adopted.

For centuries, Christians have observed that people generally build their lives around one of four worldviews:

Each worldview is trying to answer the same questions but from different foundations. When someone is restless, then, instead of assuming they’re failing, perhaps the better question is: “What if what you’re experiencing isn’t personal failure but a signal that your worldview isn’t working?”

That shift can open the door to an entirely different conversation! Instead of trying to have all the answers for them, ask good questions. Invite honest reflection, and listen carefully.

You might ask, “Do you think the worldview you’ve been trusting is giving you the life you really want?” Sometimes that’s all it takes for someone to begin considering a different foundation.

The Bible speaks powerfully to man’s struggle to build on the right foundation, in large part because it describes it so honestly. Solomon, after pursuing wealth, wisdom, pleasure, achievement, and power, concluded: “Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11b). Solomon’s problem wasn’t a lack of success. It was that his worldview couldn’t deliver what his heart was searching for.

To help someone examine their worldview is to help them look for what their heart is searching for. It’s an opportunity to walk beside them with humility, compassion, and hope until they’re ready to discover, or rediscover, Jesus.

For Reflection and Discussion

• Heart (Reflect): Which worldviews have you relied on during different seasons of your life, and what results did you get?
• Head (Understand): How would you describe the concept of worldview to a friend?
• Hands (Apply): How would you describe your current worldview? What are the good ways it’s shaping the results you’re experiencing? Do you need a tuneup?