Freedom and Man's Search for Meaning

No one else can control your attitude.

I'm in a book club that recently wrapped up discussion on Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl's autobiographical account of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. Upon reflection, my mind went back to the Bible, which, when stripped of religious dogma, contains much wisdom.

For instance, Frankl makes me think of Paul's words from 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."

• Faith in one's calling or "life's work" as motivation to live another day.

• Hope that suffering and hardship will end; hope as inspiration for courage and persistence.

• Love for others, and the feeling of being loved, as a source of spiritual sustenance.

Faith, hope, and love must always come from within. As Frankl notes:

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

In the mid-00's I regularly read Matthew Bryan's blog "Freedom is Free." (It can be found on the Wayback Machine: freefreedomtoldhere.blogspot.com) Its tagline was "Who owns you?" While the blog was about individual liberty vs. The State, I often think about how "freedom is free." I often think about who (or what) "owns" me.

In Discover the Power Within You Eric Butterworth discusses Mark 17:22, the episode where Jesus advises a rich young man to sell everything he has and give the money to the poor. Butterworth writes:

What you acknowledge to be your master, to that you are a servant. This is why the rich young man turned sorrowfully away. It says “he had great possessions”, but actually — great possessions had him. 

 The rich man was 'tied down." He was in bondage and didn't even realize it.

In Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus says: 

I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 

Butterworth writes that Jesus is saying you have the freedom to, as Frankl put it, "choose your attitude." When you are forced to give your coat, you are a victim of circumstance; your adversary "owns" you. But when you give your cloak as well, you are creating new circumstances. That's the power of faith, hope, and love. You are living fearlessly, you are setting a new agenda. You are free.

Even when liberty is gone, as it was in the Nazi camps, freedom is possible. As Frankl notes,

“Man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those chambers upright, with the Lord's Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips.” 

The inventors of the gas chambers may have been driven by ideology (i.e., fear of perceived enemies), love of money, or both. They certainly had as much liberty as anyone in Nazi Germany. But their wants and desires came from conditions outside of themselves; they let circumstances dictate their attitudes and choices. 

Those who were servants to the Nazis, were effectively "owned" by the Nazis. The prisoners, especially those "who entered those chambers upright, with the Lord's Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips” were free.

Those who have faith, hope, and especially love in their hearts are free no matter where they are.

Freedom is free.

James Leroy Wilson writes from Nebraska. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoy his articles, subscribe and exchange value for value. You may contact James for your writing, editing, and research needs: jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com. Permission to reprint is granted with attribution.

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