THE SEARCH FOR A MEANINGFUL LIFE

Atheist Paul Bloom, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, writes in the WSJ, October 16/17, 2021, about the search for a meaningful life. He cites a study done by the software company Payscale where more than 2 million people were asked what they did for a living and how much meaning they have in their lives. It turns out the most meaningful job is being a member of the clergy. Others at the top of the list include teachers, therapists, physicians and social workers. All of these jobs involve considerable difficulty and a lot of personal engagement.

He quotes the work of the psychiatrist Victor Frankl who survived the Holocaust. He studied his fellow prisoners in Auschwitz and Dachau wondering about what distinguishes those who maintain a positive attitude from those who cannot bear it. He concluded that the answer is meaning. Those who had the best chance of survival were those whose lives had broader purpose, who had some goal or project or relationship, some reason to live. As he later wrote (paraphrasing Nietzsche), “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how.’

Aldous Huxley in his 1932 novel “Brave New World” described a society of stability, control and drug-induced happiness – a society that sacrificed everything else for the goal of maximizing pleasure. Does this remind you of our search for zero-covid in a society of total protection from disease and mortality? Near the end of the book, there is a conversation between the representative of the establishment, and John, who has rebelled against the system. The expert concludes by saying that they want to eliminate risk and maximize human pleasure, “We prefer to do things comfortably.” John responds, “But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.” Bloom comments that there is no better summary of human nature.

What is the purpose of human life? What gives us meaning? Why are we here on earth in the solar system? Study the person of Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth, the Life. He came that we might have life in all its fullness (John 10:10). Secular society has tried to eliminate God and divine purpose and accountability. There is no hope in a world without God, without judgment, without mercy, without salvation, without humility, without the love of God in Christ. Instead there is a darkness in the human heart that leads to cruelty, control, and indifference to the sanctity and dignity of life. There is a broad way that leads to destruction and a narrow way that leads to life. Jesus said, “Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all that you need will be given to you.” (Matt.6:33)