Why am I so obsessed with Frankl’s work?
A Summary of Frankl’s search for meaning…and ours
If you and I have a conversation, I will probably bring up Viktor Frankl sooner or later. I can’t help it. Thinkers like Frankl have transformed how I look at human psychology and influenced how I present Biblical theology.
(One of my co-workers joked that a recipe for my sermons goes something like this:
· Two parts Scripture
· One part C.S. Lewis
· One part Viktor Frankl
Well, he’s probably right about that.)
Who is Viktor Frankl?
If you don’t know, Viktor Frankl was a Jewish neurologist and psychologist who started practicing in the early 1930s in Vienna, Austria. He broke with the dominant schools of thought—Freud’s drive for pleasure, Adler’s pursuit of power, and Skinner’s behaviorism—by proposing something more profound: the will to meaning.
Frankl resisted the reduction of human beings to “nothing but” animal or diagnostic labels. He believed we could rise above our biology and circumstances by choosing our attitude and living for something greater than ourselves.
Ultimately, he believed we are motivated by meaning. Instead of being enslaved to our most beastly and basic desires, he thought humans were constantly searching for purpose. And when they believed their lives mattered, they stayed motivated.
Those convictions were put to the test when the Nazis took him to a concentration camp, where his parents and wife were murdered. And where his life’s work-literally sewn into the lining of his coat-was confiscated and destroyed.
At that moment, he decided to see if all his work was mere words or reality. He asked himself, “Can I still find meaning and purpose even amid unavoidable suffering? And could that sense of meaning help me survive?”
As he observed human psychology in the worst circumstances, he discovered his hunch about humans was true. Namely, “if a person has a why, they can endure any how.” (a phrase that he borrowed from Friedrich Nietzsche.) In other words, if people believe their life has meaning and purpose, they can stay motivated no matter the circumstances.
He wrote all this down in his famous memoir A Man’s Search for Meaning, which became one of the most influential books of the last century.
When Frankl’s Work began to change me
Just over a decade ago, I was struggling emotionally. My ministry didn’t seem to be going anywhere, and my family was overextended and overwhelmed. I wanted to walk away from it all.
But at that moment, I was introduced to Frankl’s work. And it showed me that I still had a choice to make amid my circumstances.
I could choose my attitude.
I could choose to believe that my life had meaning.
I could believe that no matter what was going on, God still had a purpose in my life.
And if my life still had meaning, then I’d better stop my personal pity party and get back to my calling.
You know what? It worked.
Before my circumstances changed, I changed my perspective. I came to believe that my life was unconditionally meaningful. That truth kept me motivated. I’ve been returning to his idea ever since.
Frankl’s insights are good theology.
Over the past decade, I’ve reflected on Frankl’s work, and I’ve come to believe that his view of psychology is also good theology. It was our God who designed us to ask “why” questions. He has made us to be motivated by meaning. You can see it on every page of the Scriptures as characters like Moses, Elijah, the disciples, and others are always searching for their God-given purpose in the world.
In fact, Frankl taught that his search for meaning leads to the search for ultimate meaning, the search for God. (Which is an idea that will elaborate on in my next posts.) In other words, unlike so many other theories on human psychology, Frankl’s work doesn’t lead you away from the Scriptures, but deeper into a desire for God.
You Need to Know Your Life Has Meaning
Do you see the importance of understanding your psychology, namely that you are a meaning-driven creature?
If you struggle to stay motivated or engaged in life, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change all your circumstances.
You might just need to change your perspective.
You might need to remember that God is giving you good things to do, even in the challenges of your current situation.
And because of that, your life is unconditionally meaningful.
That’s why I write on this blog.
That’s why I preach and teach and offer pastoral counseling.
I want to help you see and believe your life has lasting meaning.
Because if you believe your life has a why, you will be able to endure any how.
