Meaning

April 21, 2020

Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist imprisoned in the death camps of Auschwitz and three other camps during the Second World War. After liberation, he wrote the book which became the foundation of his Logotherapy—“Man’s Search for Meaning.” Several times in the course of the book, he quotes the words of Nietzsche: “He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.” He describes poignantly those prisoners who gave up on life, who had lost all hope for a future and were inevitably the first to die. They died less from lack of food or medicine than from lack of hope, lack of something to live for.”

Having been told to expect another month of government forced social distancing, quarantine, and economic shutdown, we are beginning to see resistance from those whose lives have been most seriously impacted by these measures. Mass rallies and civil disobedience are no longer tools of the left only as ordinary people branded as radical right-wingers are pushing back against what they perceive as totalitarian overreach. 

What is the connection between Frankl and this modern-day resistance? It’s that word, “meaning.” The American people have by and large, acquiesced to the edicts of our governors, Congress, and president. We may have at times done so grudgingly, but for the most part, we are willing to endure deprivation and hardship for the good of all. But when people cannot see the connection between the proclamation and the reality they see before them, when rural America which is largely untouched by COVID-19 must abide by the same restrictions as those in the cities, the meaning gets lost. People listen to the talking heads on TV telling them how dangerous this virus is, but aren’t seeing it playing out in their neighborhoods. The pronouncements have no meaning for them.

The difference between Frankl and today’s situation is more pronounced than the similarities. Entire Jewish communities were decimated, their entire population sent to the gas chambers. People who had been living in peace and prosperity suddenly found themselves rounded up like cattle to be sent to the slaughterhouses. Meaning in such stark surroundings was hard to find. But his quote from Nietzsche is still worth pondering: “He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.” In these days of disruption when nearly everything we have trusted in seems to be giving way before this COVID tsunami, what is our Why? Is it simply to go back to life as we knew it? People are beginning to rage against the How of their lives, but we haven’t really asked why we are here. Without that divine purpose, the How of life easily overtakes and defeats us. 

Frankl observed that people often died in the camps simply because they couldn’t find a reason to keep going. They had no vision powerful enough to carry them into an unknown future. Proverbs 29:18 says it well: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” We need to be able to see beyond our present distress. There will long be debate over the effectiveness of the measures being taken. Those in favor of them will point to the statistics being revised downward and say the measures are working; those opposed will say the original projections were inflated. Whichever proves to be true, we must find meaning in our crisis. 

I’ve been using this time of enforced solitude to catch up on projects, to reflect on God’s faithfulness, to do my best to reach out to others in need. Elsewhere in the world are people who do not have the luxury of doing this; they are literally starving because the food and supply chains are in shambles. It is therefore of utmost importance that my meaning include them—praying for them, being generous in my giving, doing what I can to alleviate their suffering. If the meaning I seek includes only me and those close to me, that meaning is pretty meaningless. I am therefore grateful tonight for the Gospel that opens my mind and heart to the world, and for the resources I still have to reach out in the name of Jesus Christ to alleviate the suffering of those whose need is much more desperate than mine.