A quest for the meaning we crave and the difference the Gospel makes.

Unpacking the psychology behind the Meaning Maintenance Model and why we seek consistency and predictability.

Jul 03, 2025

A Cliché Question—But Have a Go: Where Do You Find Meaning?

What gives our existence value? Depending on who you ask, you're sure to get vastly different answers—and that’s a good thing. Your family? Relationships? Bestie? Daily routines? Your dog?

A key element of the human condition is the never-ending pursuit of meaning. Western existentialist thought, stemming from Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855), focuses heavily on the relationship between the self and meaning. He wrote:

“The self is experienced as a relation that relates itself to itself and in relating itself to itself, relates itself to another.”

Nihilist and existentialist philosopher Albert Camus (1955) claimed that all cultural endeavours—science, art, religion—are manifestations of the human need to relate all elements of perceived unity into a single cohesive framework of expected relationships.

Is meaning…. relation?

Caveat: There are so many amazing and beautiful things about the Gospel. One of the things I love most is that it gives our lives genuine value. However, its definition of meaning (as purpose) differs from a psychological conception of meaning (as relation).

Meaning, Mental Maps, and Disruption

We have a fundamental desire to preserve meaning in our day-to-day—but why do we strive for it?

For this article, meaning will be defined as how we organise and categorise mental representations of expected relationships that help shape our perceptions of the world (Heine et al., 2006, p. 88).

Ever had moments where you miss an important text from a close friend or forget to reply to a bunch of work emails? Life just gets more complicated—scrambling to get back on your feet and feel in control again. Then you check X and see devastating news about the war in the Middle East. These minor to large-scale disruptions are called meaning threats.

Why do they rattle us? Because we crave mental representations of expected relationships to make sense of the world around us. We are meaning-makers—identifying patterns and establishing associations even where they may not inherently exist.

The Psychology of Meaning

The Meaning Maintenance Model (MMM) proposes that meaning is found when expected relations are met—or when patterns are detected as “signals in the noise.” Remember those optical illusions where you see faces in buildings? That’s your brain maintaining coherence, stability, and predictability. We're always connecting the dots.

In a fascinating study, Bruner and Postman (1949) had participants play a card game with anomalies like a black Queen of Hearts or a red 7 of Spades. Most noticed the strange cards eventually. But around 10% of participants were stuck. Some even experienced acute distress. One exclaimed:

“I can’t make the suit out, whatever it is! It didn’t even look like a card that time. I don’t know what colour it is now or whether it’s a Spade or a Heart. I’m not sure what a Spade looks like. My God!” (p. 213)

Incredible. A small violation of what we expect can cause surprisingly intense psychological dissonance.

The MMM argues that when these expectations break down, we naturally turn to meaning maintenance strategies to restore our sense of unity.

How We Respond: The Five A’s

The MMM proposes five main ways people respond to meaning threats—known as the Five A’s:

Assimilation
Accommodation
Affirmation
Assembly
Abstraction

Let’s explore these: Suppose you are working on a important EOFY task with a group of colleagues at work. Suddenly, without any notice, one from you team, leaves the group and ghosts everyone. Disrupting our desire for consistency and leaving you worried about requesting to extend deadline.

1. Assimilation

We force the threat to fit into our existing beliefs.

“They were always unreliable anyway.”
You avoid confronting your trust issues by bending the event to match your existing worldview.

2. Accommodation

We tweak our beliefs to make space for the new experience.

“Maybe some people just can’t handle group work.”
Your worldview becomes more flexible, allowing growth—like patching a hole, not rebuilding the whole house.

3. Affirmation

We double down on unrelated beliefs to feel secure.
In a study by Proulx (2008), participants shown unsettling David Lynch film clips later demanded harsher punishments for Canadian rioters.

Affirmation looks like obsessing over unrelated rules or ideas to regain a sense of control.

4. Assembly

When your worldview breaks entirely, you construct a new one.

“Group work might fail. I’ll start valuing individual effort over collaboration.”

5. Abstraction

You zoom out, seeing a broader purpose or bigger picture.

Known as fluid compensation, this is when we find meaning in unrelated domains.
Proulx and Heine (2009) found that participants exposed to meaning threats performed better at grammar tasks—almost as if we become hyper-attuned to patterns when meaning is disturbed.

Jesus: The Meaning That Lasts

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” — Colossians 1:17

So how does the Gospel reshape our understanding of meaning?

According to the MMM, the quest for meaning is primarily about coherence—making sense of chaos. It’s why we value routines, ideologies, and predictability.

Jean-Paul Sartre once said:

“Life has no meaning the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal.”

He believed eternity was an illusion, leaving us to forge meaning ourselves. He was half right. Without God, we are left chasing shadows. Our lives are like mist—appearing for a moment, then gone.

But the Gospel doesn’t just help us make sense of meaning. It introduces us to the Maker of meaning.

Stephen McAlpine, an Australian Christian author, describes how our culture encourages us to craft self-made identities through performance and validation. But those identities crumble under pressure.

The Gospel offers not just a framework but a relationship with the God who created us, knows us, and binds every fragment of our lives together. Jesus is enough.

Yes, we try to restore order when our frameworks collapse—but the incredible grace of knowing you are forgiven by a just and loving God is a relief that outweighs any meaning threat.

The meaning we crave isn’t just coherence between facts—it’s communion with a Person.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28

The “illusion” of eternity is answered not with denial (Sartre) —but with the resurrection of Christ (1 Peter 1:3).

More Than Coherence: Gospel vs. Psychology

Here’s the difference:

The MMM defines meaning as making life predictable—connecting dots to feel secure.
The Gospel defines meaning as being known and loved by God, even when life is anything but secure.

Tim Keller writes:

“The Gospel tells us we are more broken and sinful than we ever dared believe, yet more loved and accepted than we ever dared hope.” — The Reason for God (2008)

Our sinful hearts chase quick fixes—control, logic, order—rather than trusting that God knows our need for meaning, and in Him we find true security and assurance.

I’ve been listening recently to Justin Brierley’s podcast The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, he highlights a cultural shift—especially among young adults in the UK and beyond. In the 2021 census, 40% identified as having “no religion,” yet many now describe modern secularism as hollow. People are yearning for something deeper.

I’ve felt that too. At times I feel the fragility in my own frameworks. Which is why I need the daily reminder:

“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10

While learning to handle disruptions using the Five A’s, let’s remember: Jesus already holds it all together.

Tim Keller, again, in The Prodigal God:

“The Gospel’s unique gift: not being a system to make life predictable, but a Saviour who makes us His own—no matter the chaos.”

Where to Go from Here

How can we use the MMM’s five strategies not just to restore order—but to lean into Jesus?

Remember that opening question: What gives your life meaning?

Let’s look at how the Five A’s can point us toward the Gospel:

a) Redirect our search for control

Pause when your expectations are disrupted.
Affirm your relationship with Jesus, who holds your world and future in His hands.

b) Anchor in the sufficiency of Jesus

Don’t turn to unrelated affirmations to feel “okay.”
Double down on the truth of the Gospel.
Let your desire for stability drive you deeper into God’s promises.

“All things work together for the good of those who love God…” — Romans 8:28

Renewed Minds with Jed

Discussion about this post