Literary scholars and biblical scholars alike have noted that the Harry Potter series is in the form of a heroic epic, and that author J.K. Rowling parallels many biblical themes – especially the contrast between the love of power vs. the power of love.
Rowling’s line, “Humans do have a knack of choosing precisely the things that are worst for them,” is not unique. C.S. Lewis, another British author, famously (or perhaps infamously) did not believe in human progress. He considered it human foolishness. And as the quest for longevity, he called it, “a contemptable ideal.”
On this side of the Atlantic, Dr. Allison DeForest, scientist and biblical professor at United Lutheran Seminary, also does not believe progress is actually possible – at least not linear scientific progress. We just solve one set of problems to only create a larger set of problems.
And while I quoting other scholars, here’s something from Timothy Crehan, a Catholic seminarian in the 1990s. He said, “You know the saying, ‘There’s no such thing as a atheist in a fox hole,’ then how come you can’t find a Christian in an emergency room?” What he was getting at was the way the patients and patients’ families in hospitals were always asking chaplains to pray for cures and miracles. Wouldn’t it have been more faithful to truly trust God and accept death rather than desperately trying to fight it at all cost?
These thoughts all come to mind as we consider the passage from Hebrews 5 and 6 that we read for today. Thus far into Hebrews the author has been forceful but kind. He has tried to highlight God’s love for us, and God’s grace and mercy. He’s shown us that that the right response we should have is to for us to have is to turn to God in faithful living. Failing to do so has not been described much. But here he turns to that.
The passage opens with some hard news for its readers. He says that by this time they should be ready for more advanced faith, but instead they are like infants who need milk and not solid food. They need to have basic lessons taught to them again. If you think of it in terms of learning math, it is telling someone they need to go back and relearn addition and subtraction. They are not ready for multiplication and division; let alone algebra and geometry – and certainly not advanced math like calculus.
Perhaps the first five chapters of Hebrews is a repeat of faith basics for the readers. They need to hear it again and to spend more time with it. They need to build a solid foundation for life upon trusting God’s will for them and for the world. They need to bolster their understanding that God’s ways really will fulfill them. That God truly does love them. That God does understand what is going on in their hearts and minds.
But of course, humans being humans, and having a knack of choosing precisely the things that are worst for them, they aren’t getting the message.
It is very easy to think, “If God’s grace and mercy are bountiful, and if I am forgiven repeatedly for mistakes, then I’m just going to do what I want to do and whatever the consequences God will still love me.” But that’s choosing precisely the things that are worst. A very different, but faith-filled response is, “If God’s grace and mercy are bountiful, and if I am forgiven repeatedly for mistakes, then I am going to deeply love God for that; and want to live in a way that honors it.”
As we read, Hebrews goes on in chapter 6 to say, “For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away…”
Let’s not get hung up on the word impossible. We easily mistakenly think that means being permanently removed from God’s grace. That is not what is meant. It is meant in a practical way. For example, it is impossible for you to start your car and keep it running without a battery. That’s not a condemnation. It’s a statement of truth. If you’ve rejected God’s love then it’s like you’re refusing to put a battery in your car. Nothing is going to work.
It seems that the original readers of Hebrews had a knack of choosing what is worst for them. After becoming followers of Christ and learning of God’s love, they decided it meant they had liberty to do what they wanted. The same goes for today. People have a knack of choosing what is worst for them.
It is common for a person’s interest and commitment to church to wane as their wealth increases. Instead of prioritizing worship, prayer, and study people choose to prioritize greater business opportunities, vacations, and entertainment. I’m not saying any of that is bad or wrong. To the contrary. It is just that priorities shift.
Then they shift some more.
Then then shift a bit more.
And on and on.
I’ve cited the Interpreter’s Bible Commentary series we have in our church library any number of times as its authors – writing shortly after World War 2 – note that the widespread prosperity coming to the nation is so antithetical to the teachings of Jesus that the church is in deep trouble.
We seem to think that more wealth leads to greater independence. Greater independence means greater self-determination. And greater self-determination should mean better fulfillment in life. But we humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for us.
So, what is actually good for us? Well, Hebrews is already there when it talks about not falling away from active faith once we’ve been introduced to it. A couple weeks ago I cited a 2016 publication from the Harvard School of Public Health that found that regular religious participation, especially in Judaism and Christianity reduced mortality by 20-30% over a 15 year period. It increased mental health, gave a greater sense of happiness, and significantly reduced depression.[1]
Here are more studies. Tyler VanderWeele, in a 2017 article published by Oxford University called, “Religion and Health: A Synthesis,” found evidence that approximately 40% of the rise in suicide rates between 1999 and 2014 were likely attributable to declines in regular church attendance.”[2]
In 2001 the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that people who go to church each week tended to feel happier, enjoy higher life satisfaction, and have more of a sense of purpose than those who don’t. They’re also more optimistic about the future.[3]
But we humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for us.
In 2019 the Pew Research Center released a study covering 25 countries that found an 11% increase in regular worship attending adults who consider themselves to be “very happy” over those who do not.[4]
In 2019 the Wall Street Journal published an article by Erica Komisar titled, “Don’t Believe in God? Li e to Your Children,” with findings that perhaps the single best thing that parents can do to protect their children’s mental health is to instill in them a healthy interest in religion.[5]
But we humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for us.
And just one more. In April of 2024 Harvard Public Health published that “declining [worship] attendance accounted for 28% of the increase in depression among adolescents.”[6]
Now statistics can be warped to show just about anything. And just because you cite many studies does not mean those studies are true. Sociological research is always highly subject to bias. But at the very least, a body of sociologists, medical experts, and mental health professionals similarly find value in religious convictions lived out with regularity and discipline.
Hebrews may have been written almost 2000 years ago, but we humans haven’t changed. At that time it appears that many were leaving commitment to Christian faith for other things. The author warns them of the consequences of their choices. Their lives will become like ground drinking up the rain falling on it repeatedly, but producing thorns and thistles, are worthless; and in the end will be burned over.
God loves us dearly and has given us everything we need for wholeness, happiness, and fulfillment. But we humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for us. We listen to Hebrews when it says, “We want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
[1] Tyler
J. VanderWeele and John Siniff, “Religion May Be a Miracle Drug” USA Today, October
28, 2016.
[2] Tyler
J. VanderWeele, “Religion and Health: A Synthesis,” in Spirituality and Religion
Within the Culture of Medicine: From Evidence to Practice, ed. Michael J. Balboni
and John R. Peteet (Oxford University press, 2017), 357-401.
[3]
W.J. Strawbridge, S.J. Shema, R.D. Cohen, and G.A. Kaplan, “Religious
Attendance Increases Survival by Improving and Maintaining Good Health Behaviors,
Mental Health, and Social Relationships,” Annals of Behavioral Medicine 23,
No. 1 (2001):68-74.
[4] See
“Religion’s Relationship to Happiness, Civic Engagement, and Health Around the
World,” Pew Research Center, January 1, 2019.
[5]
Erica Komisar, “Don’t Believe in God?
Lie to Your Children,” Wall Street Journal, December 5, 2019.
[6]
Tyler VanderWeele, “Why Public Health Should Attend to the Spiritual Side of
Life,” Harvard Public Health, April 10, 2024.
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