'Till He returns or calls me home

The New American Oxford Dictionary defines ‘nihilism’ as, “the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless;” a nihilist, then, is one who holds this belief that life is meaningless. The question I want to raise is this: can there be a happy nihilist?

This question was brought to my attention by a song called “The Happy Nihilist” by a fantastic Seattle-based rock band called The Classic Crime. Aside from the song being incredibly catchy and tightly executed musically, the lyrics have always caught my attention, and not just because Matt MacDonald was bold enough to purposefully misuse the word “hell” in the chorus (which, in the context of the song, is effective in the way they use it to help convey the song’s message and make it realistic. But that’s another conversation altogether). The lyrics tell a story about a “happy nihilist” who, despite his belief that his existence is meaningless, is searching for answers, and the song’s choice of words really makes you realize that, despite claiming to be happy in the beginning, he is really not happy or content at all… and then by the end of the song he finally confesses that he really is not happy, and thinks, “I was a happy nihilist, now I’m wondering why I exist.”

If you believe your existence is meaningless, then what are you living for? If you don’t think anything has meaning, then you might be living for something or someone, but you certainly have nothing worth living for, in your view. If you have nothing meaningful to live for, can you ever possibly have true happiness? Maybe you could take joy in a moment or a bit of good news, but it’s all pointless in the end because it ends! With that belief, can you have any kind of lasting happiness or joy? I don’t think it’s possible.

If there is nothing with true meaning or purpose, then happiness is a tragically unattainable fantasy. Accepting the truth that there is a God who made this world, and you, gives this life so much value and meaning. Accepting the salvation from sin that same God has offered through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ is ultimately the only way anybody is going to have any lasting joy, because nothing else lasts forever.

“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut- when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low- they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets- before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, all is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 12: 1-8