It Matters That it Doesn’t Matter

Whenever I see someone walking into Walmart in his faded flannel pajama bottoms, I feel a wave sweeping towards me that is a mixture of nihilism and narcissism. The nihilism and narcissism originate in the floodwaters of postmodernism that have inundated our society. The seemingly innocuous act of wearing flannel pajama bottoms to Walmart is but a stone thrown into the prevailing pop culture producing the waves which I an observer feel. The only reasons one would indecorously wear his sleepwear in public is because he feels it doesn’t matter or that it doesn’t matter that it matters to others. That it doesn’t matter is nihilism—the feeling of everything being useless, pointless, and senseless, a feeling that comes from rejecting absolute truths. That it doesn’t matter that it matters to others is narcissism—the egotistic fixation on oneself, a belief that one’s own opinion, judgment, perception, etc., are all that matters. This feeling comes from one deeming himself autonomous. (And therein is the paradox: to the narcissist it doesn’t matter because he is all that matters.) Either way, the it-doesn’t-matter perception of society comes from divorcing God from its worldview. If there is no God who observes, evaluates and calls into account, morality doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter how people treat or are treated. Not really. If there is no God, nothing matters. It doesn’t matter that one is hurting, is distressed, is lonely, etc. A man tries to share his heart to his wife. She, distracted, isn’t listening. He notices and quits talking. She, realizing the background noise of his monologue has grown silent, reveilles herself enough to ask, “What were you saying?” He responds, “Nothing. It doesn’t matter.” The employee is perfunctorily asked by the overbearing boss, “What do you think?” The employee answers, “It doesn’t matter what I think.” Jaded from eating out, one, asked where he would like to have dinner, responds, “It doesn’t matter.” One apologizes for breaking a dinner date. The ditched says, “It doesn’t matter.” These are simple analogies that reveal wide-range usage of the phrase. Yet, the sentiment is deeply rooted in an increasingly godless world. Truth is, without God in the worldview, “It doesn’t matter.” Not morally. Not existentially. Not pragmatically. Not only does “it” not matter, “nothing” matters. If nothing matters, nothing matters. There is no reason, purpose for anything. Oh, there is yet the narcissistic outlook: Nothing matters but I—what I want, decide, prefer, choose. “I” isn’t a very fulfilling purpose for living. “I,” however inflated, is too small to fill the need for meaning. People today seek for something beyond the paltry “I” to matter. For example, they posture themselves as fanatically caring for nature. They don’t really care that much for the environment or dolphins. Not really. The concern for the environment, dolphins, and the rest is a desperate attempt to make something matter. See, we humans must have something that matters. Since God doesn’t matter, nature must. Humanity can try to make environment matter. But, without God there is no real reason why it should matter. In the end, if God doesn’t matter, nothing will matter. All the rave about drinking, marijuana, vaping, partying, etc., is but a hedonistic whistling-in-the-dark way of saying, “It doesn’t matter that nothing matters.” But, oh, to put God in the picture changes everything. It makes everything matter. The way I act. The way I think. The way I treat others. The way I feel. It matters because it matters to Him. It matters because I matter to Him. Also, because I matter to Him, others matter to me. I write this blog after just having awaken last night with two phrases roiling around in my semi-consciousness: First, was “It doesn’t matter.” Following that came, “It matters to the Master.” (I don’t know when I’ve last heard that song.) These two phrases were like two wrestlers constantly changing positions. One moment one wrestler was on top, the next the other. Many times, consciously, unconsciously, or semi-consciously, that wrestling match goes on in one’s mind, heart, and life. One thing is for sure. Get rid of God and there is no wrestling match. “It doesn’t matter” wins uncontested. Every time. Without God it doesn’t matter is all there is. Fact is, there is a Master, and it matters to Him. Perhaps, someone’s wearing faded flannel pjs to Walmart doesn’t matter. But, one with a heart of faded faith, faded joy, faded hope, does. I think what gets me about the faded flannel pjs is that it doesn’t matter that it doesn’t matter. With God it matters that it doesn’t matter. And, that matters!

It Matters That it Doesn’t Matter

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