What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? We can sit and pine for non-arbitrary answers to these questions, but that would not be pragmatic. Likewise, we can throw our caution to the wind and not be bothered by such deep philosophical and theological questions, but this action does not come without risk of grave consequences. If these questions are not pondered, what will we miss?
To even begin to entertain the idea that we may have the slightest knowledge of the meaning of life, we must be sure to take a close look at the smallest intricacies and the vastest frameworks of life. We must learn all we can about ourselves, our fellow human beings, and the universe in which we live. To gain knowledge of this world is to live in the world. We cannot isolate ourselves inside a bubble, sheltered from the raging storms. We must recognize the presence of death and destruction. And, although sometimes brutal, we must look with reverence among the fallen, for this is our best course of action to prevent more brutal, unnecessary death, which I believe we can say with certainty is not the meaning of life. Just as death must be recognized, we must also revere life, its finiteness and seeming arbitrariness. But neither life nor death is arbitrary. If it were, life would indeed have no meaning.
To learn about our fellow humans, we must recognize our inherent need for explanations of phenomena we cannot understand on our own. We turn to religion. Religion fulfills our need for explanation by giving us faith in something we truly cannot fully comprehend. The religious have faith; the non-religious have faith; even the atheist has faith. The religious put their faith in gods and deities. The non-religious put their faith in unorganized spirituality. The atheists put their faith in humanity; they must have faith that there is no God at all. We cannot definitively prove that there is God, nor can we definitively prove that there is not a God. When we accept the reality and need for faith, we begin to understand each other. We must further our knowledge by understanding our diversity of culture and values. We must think communally rather than solely individually.
Finally, we must understand ourselves. If we have knowledge of the universe and of our brothers and sisters, but do not know who we are, our knowledge is ultimately useless. To understand ourselves, we must yield to the counsel of the wise and rise above the entropy of the foolish. We must also understand that frameworks such as the enneagram seek to describe life, not define it. Our goal in gaining self-knowledge is to describe ourselves, not define who we are.
Once we have acquired knowledge, we do not automatically know the meaning of life. The meaning of life is not given but rather it is found. And, as it is not arbitrary, it is not personal to us. The meaning of life must be ultimately communal, created by the meaning each individual brings to the table. When the meaning is solely individual, we sacrifice the survival of the community. We are not here to build ourselves up, to gain power, and to become wealthy. We are here at EMU to build our community, our state, our country, and our world up. We are here to accomplish this by following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whom I have put my faith in. We are here to recognize and worship the divine in the ordinary and the complex.
The meaning of life is not to twist and bend this universe to fulfill ourselves, but rather to find fulfillment in the twists and bends of the life Christ has called us to.
This may seem theoretical and without clear pragmatism. We must remember, however, that without theory there is no pragmatic application. To be pragmatic, we must be informed, and to be informed, we must be capable of multidimensional thought. We must think of our relationships with those closest to us. We must think of our role in our communities, and the role of our community in our state or country. Our actions resonate around us is all directions. Theory and application must coexist in our thinking and our actions.
I understand that my religion, culture, and values will not be shared by all who read this. Please do not take offense. To fully understand the meaning of life is to understand our differences in personality, culture, values, and beliefs. But understanding these differences do not require us to accept them as true. While our environment is constantly in motion, my hope is that we can rest in the surety of this truth: the giver of meaning, Christ, is steadfast in an ever-changing world.
