The Search for Meaning: Why Wealth, Power, Pleasure, and Honor Fall Short

In today’s world, it’s common to see happiness defined by what we can acquire; whether it’s wealth, influence, experiences, or recognition. Yet even as people gain these things, fulfillment often remains elusive. The philosopher and theologian St. Thomas Aquinas identified four substitutes that people often chase in place of true spiritual fulfillment: wealth, pleasure, power, and honor. These are not inherently bad pursuits; each has a role in life. But when they’re mistaken for the ultimate sources of happiness, they often lead us further from the contentment we seek, creating a void that only grows deeper.

As Robert Barron writes, “One of the most fundamental problems in the spiritual order is that we sense within ourselves the hunger for God, but we attempt to satisfy it with some created good that is less than God. Thomas Aquinas said that the four typical substitutes for God are wealth, pleasure, power, and honor. Sensing the void within, we attempt to fill it up with some combination of these four things, but only by emptying out the self in love can we make the space for God to fill us.”

Barron’s words speak to the heart of a shared human struggle: we all have an innate desire for purpose and connection with something greater than ourselves. When we attempt to satisfy this deep longing with “finite goods” like wealth, power, pleasure, and honor, we become trapped in what Barron calls a form of “addiction.” Our dissatisfaction only grows, compelling us to chase these same things even more obsessively.

Wealth, as Aquinas pointed out, is often the most obvious substitute for happiness. It’s easy to assume that financial security or abundance will make us happy. And while wealth can provide comfort, security, and access to resources, it is ultimately only a means to an end. Wealth allows us to pursue the things we value; education, health, stability; but cannot bring us lasting happiness on its own. When we treat wealth as the ultimate goal, we risk falling into a cycle of accumulation without fulfillment, mistaking our needs for more as a substitute for genuine happiness.

Power is another pursuit that offers the promise of satisfaction, yet rarely delivers it. Power allows us to shape our environments and influence others, fulfilling our desire for agency. But, like wealth, power tends to inspire a sense of needing more to keep up the illusion of control. The constant pursuit of power can lead to exhaustion, and, ironically, the more power one has, the more vulnerable one becomes to fear of losing it. Instead of bringing contentment, power often breeds anxiety, leaving us feeling isolated or even alienated from others as we distance ourselves in the name of maintaining authority. When the desire for power overshadows deeper human values like empathy and humility, it ultimately leaves a person unfulfilled, a mere imitation of happiness.

Pleasure is perhaps the most immediate and accessible of these four substitutes. We seek pleasure in experiences, relationships, and various forms of enjoyment, hoping these will fill us with happiness. Yet pleasure is, by its nature, temporary and often diminishes with repetition. Relying on pleasure for fulfillment can trap us in a cycle of wanting more, as each high fades and leaves us craving the next. When pleasure becomes the central goal, it leads to a life of restless seeking, pulling us further from the more profound satisfaction that comes from connection and meaning. Rather than providing the deep joy we seek, pleasure alone is often a fleeting escape.

Honor, or the pursuit of recognition, is another substitute that promises validation but can end up feeling hollow. Many of us naturally want to feel valued and acknowledged by others; it’s part of being human. However, when we seek validation as a measure of self-worth, we give others the power to define us. Chasing honor can become an unending endeavor, as the recognition we receive may be fleeting or conditional. In the end, honor that is not grounded in genuine self-worth or purpose leaves us feeling incomplete, as we place our worth in the hands of others rather than in a sense of internal alignment.

Each of these four pursuits is, in its own way, a stand-in for the deeper fulfillment that Barron and Aquinas believe only a connection to something greater can provide. Without such a grounding force, we are left to attempt filling the infinite within us with finite things, inevitably leading to frustration. As Barron points out, this misalignment creates a kind of “spiritual panic,” a restless state where we become fixated on the very things that will never truly satisfy us.

The antidote to this cycle isn’t found in rejecting wealth, power, pleasure, or honor but in placing them in proper perspective. Only by “emptying out the self in love,” as Barron describes, can we find the space to welcome something truly meaningful. It is a spiritual longing that these substitutes can never fully satisfy.

True happiness, then, lies not in accumulation but in alignment; with purpose, with love, and with a sense of connection that transcends the self. In recognizing this, we free ourselves from the need to constantly seek more of what can never complete us and open ourselves to a deeper, more enduring source of contentment.

Focus on what is truly important and keep winning!

Ike