What was I made for? It’s a sobering question that Barbie asks in the song by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell. This question is not unique to Barbie, however. The song’s success illustrates how much the question resonates with each of us in different contexts. For Barbie, it’s about her unrealistic portrayal of beauty and the potential impact it has on young girls. Likewise, Little Pot wonders about the purpose it was made. Then there’s you. Have you ever stopped to ponder what you were made for? This existential question is not limited to children’s plastic toys and books about clay vessels. It’s something that many of us grapple with at some point in our lives.

Whether it’s a career path, a specific role, or simply finding our place in the world, misunderstanding what you were made for can leave you feeling empty and unfulfilled. So, let’s join Barbie and Little Pot to explore this profound question and discover a deeper meaning and purpose in our lives. Lastly, we’ll uncover the steps you can take to live a more purpose-driven life. So, buckle up and prepare to embark on a fruitful and fulfilling journey because the answer to “What was I made for?” might just surprise you.

Read more: What was I Made For? A Sobering Question for Barbie, Little Pot, and You!

What Was I Made For?

The song “What Was I Made For” was written for the Barbie Movie soundtrack. The sad ballad won a Golden Globe, the Grammy’s 2024 Song of the Year, and a 2024 Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also placed ninth in the Rolling Stones 110 Best Songs of 2023. Additionally, its meaning has been discussed on social media posts and television shows worldwide.

The lyrics ring true with everyone who hears them. Eilish, the song’s writer, remembered thinking, “God, this is so real for me.” The song expresses a question we all ask ourselves. We seek the answer again and again. Likewise, once we feel we have found it, it can disappear. When that happens, it leaves us feeling even more lonely and depressed.

Little Pot, a vessel created to grow fruit for the potter, knows all about asking, “What was I made for?” Within this children’s book, the clay vessel feels just like Barbie in the movie. Each time the Potter fills it with something new, it begins to define its purpose with what it can hold. How often do we do the same? Just like Barbie, we have an unreal expectation of who we are and why we exist in this world.

An Unreal Expectation of What I Was Made For

Barbie was created as this ideal figure we all aspired to become. Unknowingly, as we were given this doll to play with, we were told we could be anything. Barbie was beautiful and held every job, from an astronaut to a ski resort instructor. Not to mention, she lived in a “Dream House” and had an attractive boyfriend. Therefore, as a little girl growing up with Barbie dolls all around her, I was subconsciously taught that my worth and value existed in the things I would obtain and the jobs I could hold. It was that idea that created the story of The Little Pot.

In the movie, Barbie says, ” I want to do re-imaging. I don’t want to be the idea. I want to be part of the people that make meaning, not the thing that’s made.” This statement permits us to move away from an idea of who the world tells us we should be. In the song lyrics from “What Was I Made For,” we read:

I was an ideal. Looked so alive, turns out I’m not real. Just something you paid for. what was I made for?

-What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish

Christianity’s Expectation Is not Always Real

This idea or ideal of what we are made for doesn’t exist just in the secular world. Christian culture also puts expectations on us that are not what Christ wants for us. The church can create rule-based behavioral expectations that make us feel we have to measure up to the type of “Barbie standard,” too.

Consequently, the only way we can truly know our purpose is to see ourselves through the eyes of Jesus. Just like Little Pot, Our Potter and Creator will fill us with things that we wrongly believe define us. To help us find a deeper relationship with Him, He will also take those things away.

Little Pot eventually discovers it was made to grow fruit. Consequently, we should define ourselves by what we produce and not what we hold. A Barbie doll is not real. As the song says, it is something we pay for. It represents a false identity. You, however, were paid for by the blood of Jesus. His death on the cross paid for you. What you were made for is found in God.

Conclusion: Your Purpose is the same.

You were made to be a fruit pot. Growing the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

By adding your first name and email below, you can learn how your Potter grows the fruit through you. You’ll receive Little Pot’s steps to becoming a fruit pot. Additionally, you’ll receive a “Fruitful Friday Email” each week.