Pandora’s Box
Saint Augustine said: "Let those who dread be allowed to hope,"
But what exactly is hope?
I’ll start with Greek Mythology because I’m reminded of the story of Pandora.
Mythology stated that Zeus first created only men. Prometheus first stole fire for man then tricked Zeus into giving man the best parts of any animal sacrifice, and leaving the gods with fat and bones.
That made Zeus mad, so in retribution, he created Pandora, the first woman. Which doesn’t really sound like much a punishment to me but hey, it’s the Greeks. Zeus made her a shy maiden with a name means “gift of all.” All the rest of the gods of mythology gave her gifts of silvery raiment, streams of flowers and a crown of gold.
The story says when Zeus presented her, she was a wonder for all man and gods to behold. She was made to be the mother of all women.
Later all the gods made another gift for her. They took a box and put all the plagues and evils inside. Then they presented it to her, warning her never to open it. She was then sent to Prometheus’s brother even though he’d been cautioned not to let her stay.
Pandora never knew what was in the box. Eventually her curiosity overcame her. When she lifted the lid, all the evils, sorrows, ills and plagues escaped. She tried her hardest to close it, but it was too late. After all had escaped, there was one good thing left in the box … HOPE.
Mythology had said hope remains as mankind’s comfort during times of misfortune.
But for us, direction comes in Romans. 15:4:
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
So what is hope?
Hope is a comfort according to the Greeks that made up the mythology some 2600 years ago.
In the encyclopedia it says: “hope, in Christian thought, one of the three theological virtues, the others being faith and charity (love). It is distinct from the latter two because it is directed exclusively toward the future, as fervent desire and confident expectation.1
According to St. Augustine, “Hope deals only with good things, and only with those which lie in the future, and which pertain to the man who cherishes the hope. Since this is so, faith must be distinguished from hope: they are different terms and likewise different concepts. Yet faith and hope have this in common: they refer to what is not seen, whether this unseen is believed in or hoped for.”
And further he says, “Therefore, the apostle Paul approves and commends the faith that works by love and that cannot exist without hope. Thus it is that love is not without hope, hope is not without love, and neither hope nor love are without faith.”
Hope is a lot of things. It can even mean the difference between life and death. In the military, we went through classes and studied what happened if we were captured and taken prisoner. We were taught that when someone gave up, they were lost, and not only giving up hope but they give up on living. That’s one reason it’s. But also at the Army War College I found and article that said: “Hope is not just a strategy; it is at the heart of the most successful components of American grand strategy over the last seventy-plus years. Yes, hope – standing alone, unmoored to any concrete action or contingency plans – is not a strategy. But we would do well to remember that when it comes down to it, hope is not just a strategy; it is the only strategy America really has, and it should spur us to action, instead of remaining paralyzed by endless, realist, what-ifs.”5
With all these definitions, is it a wonder that it’s been the subject of study? In an article by Dr. Adam P. Stern MD
What hope does for us
"[it’s] is also beginning to reveal its value in scientific studies. Among young adults with chronic illnesses, greater degrees of hope are associated with improved coping, well-being, and engagement in healthy behaviors. It also protects against depression and suicide. Among teens, hope is linked with health, quality of life, self-esteem, and a sense of purpose. It is an essential factor for developing both maturity and resilience.”3
….
Life seems to have little to offer without hope, but with it you can accomplish almost anything.
I remember reading the Diary of Ann Frank. She and her family went into hiding when they realized they had no more chance of escaping. A friend hid them in the attic of his spice mill. There they were sheltered with another family and a dentist as well.
Imagine 8 people and a cat all cowering in cramped quarters and with little food. There were allied bombers by night and Nazis by day. They had to stay quiet as possible because the mill was still in operation. With all of their insurmountable odds, they managed to survive for years before they were discovered.
They always had hope that God would get them through this terrible time.
Just like them, hope gives us strength. When the situation looks bleak, you can always anticipation that it’ll get better. The one spark of it can go along way.
Goals are not possible without it. If you were standing at the beginning of any long journey, would you even start if you didn’t believe you could ever finish?
Goals without hope are just fantasies. They lack the vision and drive necessary to make them a reality. Just look at some of the accomplishments that changed the course of history because of it.
Starting with one of the big ones, the Israelites spending 40 years in the wilderness. They left what was probably one of the most prosperous lands of antiquity and then spent a generation wandering in the wilderness. All because they had the vision of what their promised land would be. That took a lot of hope.
I also believe it’s what our country was built on. Let’s use the Pilgrims for example. They left their home in England, and after a short stay in Holland, boarded a tiny cramped ship with no privacy for 3 months. This was no cruise ship. I think this would be really hard for us to ever imagine. For many of us, roughing it is staying in a 2-Star that doesn’t have a breakfast buffet. You know, the one with the Texas shaped waffle maker in the morning. But their ship was a little longer than the Sanctuary and maybe half as wide.
When they finally arrived on this continent, it was late fall, and they had little stored food for the winter. Almost half of them died that first year, yet when the Mayflower returned, they didn’t leave to return with it back to safety. With their first year as an example, they had little to look forward to yet they stuck it out with hope as their only comfort.
That’s just the beginning of our nation’s journey of hope. We’re a land of mostly immigrants from around the world. People headed toward America, migrated across the land, settling where they could. Hope still brings people to our nation. So great is it’s drive that we have thousands gathered at our boarder trying to get in.
How does one acquire it? Some believe that you get hope only when a situation couldn’t possibly get any worse.
We talked about this around the dinner table any my wife had insightfully suggested it’s gained through a combination of faith that God will make things better and faith in yourself that you would have the strength to make it though.
Psalm 39:7 say it comes from God:
But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
I believe as Christians, we intrinsically have hope. When things are looking at their worst, we have the faith that God can make it better. Having this mindset will also give you a more optimistic outlook on life.
So far I’ve only talked about hope as a noun. What about looking at it as a verb; when you’re hoping.
Hoping it the healthier attitude. When you’re not hoping, you’re either expecting your desired outcome or you’re taking the negative pessimistic view that it’s never going to happen. When hoping, you’re also not telling yourself there is no end to your problems.
When you’re hoping, you’re not wallowing in the situation you’re in and it gives that spark needed to achieve the goal.
When you realize all this, then you realize how it mends a broken life. It’s like a carrot at the end of a stick or a light at the end of tunnel, leading out of the darkness. You never reach your goal because when you’ve gotten there, it’s no longer a goal, it’s an accomplishment. Hope will still out in front, leading you further into new plateaus
I also believe that hope can be given, like a gift. It is after all, a gift from God. It can be something as minor as a hug or word of encouragement just when needed. It can be lending a helping hand so they see they don’t have to go it alone. It is contagious because your attitude can influence others. How many times had someone with a good outlook changed your entire day with a kind word or a smile? In contrast, negativity is just as contagious. So, which do you think God wants you to spread?
It's not just me saying it. Researchers looked at attitudes toward an entire group when just one person was positive. It really did effect how others were perceived when positivity and optimism were displayed by even just one person.7
We need to be spreading hope. It is a matter of life and death.
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people age 15 to 24 in the U.S. This is catchy and has become the new pandemic. Nearly 20% of high school students report serious thoughts of suicide and 9% have made an attempt to take their lives, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.4
Knowing all this, which outlook do you think God wants? This is why God gives us hope and how it mends a broken life. I found hundreds of articles where it explicitly stated that giving hope prevented suicides. Many of the articles also said that a great source of support and hope comes from the religious communities.
Hope is an actual need. It’s proven throughout history through dramatic examples that we must have it. It’s led our ancestors across deserts to promised lands. Even our doctors encourage it no matter how bad the prognosis because hope is a necessary part of healing. It’s won wars when the forces of good were out-numbered and out-gunned. It’s given reasons to live to the down trodden. But all of those pales in comparison to what we receive from the Lord.
I leave you with Romans
Romans 8:24
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for
what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? {8:25} But if
we hope for that we see not, [then] do we with patience wait
for [it. ]
Romans 15:13
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of
the Holy Ghost.
Amen
1. Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/hope-Christianity
2. The Creed and the Lord's Prayer as Guides to the Interpretation of the Theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love; Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Love — Saint Augustine, https://biblehub.com/library/augustine/handbook_on_faith_hope_and_love/chapter_ii_the_creed_and.htm#:~:text=Thus%2C%20not%20only%20about%20men%2C%20but%20even%20about,pertain%20to%20the%20man%20who%20cherishes%20the%20hope.
3. HARVARD HEALTH BLOG;Hope: Why it matters; Adam P. Stern, MD July 16, 2021; https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/hope-why-it-matters-202107162547
4. What You Need to Know About Youth Suicide; National Alliance of Mental Illness; https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults/What-You-Need-to-Know-About-Youth-Suicide
5. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/articles/hope-not-strategy-strategy/
6. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/imperfect-spirituality/201902/why-hope-matters
7. Attitudes About Others Can Be Contagious; Allison Skinner Ph.D. August 8, 2020 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/catching-bias/202008/attitudes-about-others-can-be-contagious
