Or is it? I suspect that a lot of what people mean when they say that they want their life to have meaning is that they do not want to end up with regrets: regrets about what they did or did not do; regrets about having wasted time; regrets that they did not fulfill their potential.
The search for meaning then, is the search for ways to minimize the chance of regrets. But having found an awesome meaning, there is still the chance that you may eventually come to see it as worthless. You may realize that it is wrong. You may realize that it has no worth. You may just get tired of it.
It seems the only way to defend against this fear is to find your One True Meaning. Your absolute meaning. But one of the terrifying things about a world without God is that there is no absolute meaning. Every meaning is relative to some context: yourself, your culture, our world.
But even if we could figure out an absolute meaning, is it really that great? Consider this thought experiment. An all knowing computer, one that can be said to have the best interests of yourself and all of humanity in mind, gives you your life's purpose. Would you suddenly be satisfied?
Personally, while I would not reject the meaning from this omniscient being, I would not accept it just because that being was omniscient. A meaning from outside of yourself is not your own meaning until you choose to internalize it and make it home.
Now, I know some people will counter that their God is not only all knowing. Their God is loving. Their God is Love. But so what. The hypothetical meaning provided by God is still a meaning from outside of yourself.
Even for an absolute meaning, if you have to internalize it before it actually becomes, well, meaningful to you, then there is always the chance that it could lose its significance, like any meaning of your own manufacture. Yes, it might be the right meaning for you. It may be the meaning that brings you the most happiness, but really the fact that some all knowing being gave it to you does not make it any more significant than any meaning you found on your own; it just shortcuts the evaluation process.
In short, I don't think that "all is meaningless" is necessarily a negative conclusion. It is better to acknowledge now that permanent satisfaction cannot be grasped, that even the best of meanings can become meaningless, than to have it hit you full force when that satisfaction is lost.
I think people crave absolute meaning b/c they don't want to struggle for nothing. Even within the realm of Christianity, we question to what degree the events of our life have meaning. I've been talking a lot about this with my parents, as my mom is working on a lesson on hope for a Ladies' Day, and as today is my brother's birthday (he committed suicide after a long struggle with bipolar disorder). To us, for someone as talented and charismatic as my brother to suffer and die from such a horrible disorder (and to put my parents through hell on the way) seems arbitrary and meaningless. What my mom--and so many people--hope is that those events were not meaningless, that they had some sort of purpose, that they were part of a bigger plan that was ultimately designed for some good purpose. She knows that she will most likely never understand that purpose, but she just has hope that it is there. And the POSSIBILITY that it is there brings her comfort b/c it gives a meaning, a "greater good" to her suffering. My dad, on the other hand, truly is of the Ecclesiastes mind, that all of these events that happen to us are random and ultimately meaningless, and that WE have to honor God by making the best out of what we have been handed. Both of them are firm Christians, but they have contextualized the ideas of meaning from the Bible differently.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think you are right that even if one believes in God, they have to internalize the meaning that God gives them in order for it to be effective. Believe me when I say that many Christians balk--either in words or in practice--when faced with the idea that their meaning and purpose comes solely in glorifying God with their actions. What about THEIR dreams? What about what THEY want to do? It can be a bitter pill to swallow, even for those who believe in God. For Christianity to really take root in a person, they have to be able to embrace that meaning and take it as their own. I guess that's why the image of God's Spirit actually dwelling within us is helpful. It's the ultimate internalization.
Great comment Kim.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Kim, you bring up a good point. Not wanting the things that do happen to be without meaning is another reason people want meaning. Perhaps sadly, things are not meaningful just because we want them to be.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I would also add that they are not devoid of meaning just because we believe them to be:).
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