A Four-Lettered "H" Word Part 3

How can hope be foolish?

Coming from the phrase "a fool's hope," I really wonder what Tolkien was getting at when he wrote this phrase in his Lord of the Rings Trilogy. In The Return of the King, Gandalf is asked by Pippin if there is any hope, and he replies, "There never was much hope. Just a fool's hope." Now, this response is supposed to be endearing to Pippin, as he is commonly called a fool throughout the story; however, I think we can learn from this as well.

Here is what Dictionary.com has to say about a fool:

1. a silly or stupid person; a person who lacks judgement or sense.

2. a professional jester, formerly kept by a person of royal or noble rank for amusement: the court fool.

3. a person who has been tricked or deceived into appearing or acting silly or stupid: to make a fool of someone

4. an ardent enthusiast who cannot resist an opportunity to endulge an enthusiasm (usually preceded by a present participle): He's just a dancing fool

5. a weak-minded or idiotic person.

One night, I asked my friend if she thought hope was foolish. At first, her answer was, "yes". But the context needs to be know. Currently, she is being bombarded with the frustrations of an ex-boyfriend who won't let her go, a friend who desperately wants to be more, and the fea

r that she will never find a good guy. She is losing hope while contending with the guys' hope that she will chose them.

Put yourself in this situation. Does hope seem stupid? Tricky? A part of the joker? An addiction of the desperate? A characteristic of idiots who won't get the picture?

When we have been hurt, do we really want to hope? When we have hoped but not seen that hope realized, do we give it up as a fool's practice? When we know without a doubt that a bad situation will not change, do we still hope that it will? Aren't we supposed to always hope, never

give up? "But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."~Romans 8:25 "But as for me, I will watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me."~Micah 7:7

It would make my friend's life so much easier if those guys would just stop hoping that they will eventually win her over. It woul

d be much less painful to just give up and not care about our "useless" hopes than be disappointed again and again. But, we can't give up. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick..." Proverbs 13:12 Even the most cynical person you know holds on to hope. The way we can tell when a person has officially dropped hope is when they become depressed.

I've started answering another question of hope: When is hope a bad thing? I want to save this question for the next blog (yu

p, we are going into a part 4. Who would have thought half of Hebrews 11:1 could generate such a long discussion?).

But, in answer to if hope is foolish, here is what you think: no. My friend mass texted her hundreds of contacts with the question I posed her, and the VAST majority answered 'No way!'.

I think yes and no. Under the view of the "experienced, well-knowing" world and society, hope can be very foolish, especially if it goes against the facts. But, as Chirst's followers, we aren't called to look prudent in the world's terms. Sometimes, we are going to looks silly or foolish. However, we just have to remember Who's opinion of us really matters, which is really difficult at many times, I'll admit.

A story about hope: There was once a man who loved wolves. Since the wolves of the area were losing their habitat, he bought a perfect piece of land that would be more than big enough for the wolves to live in. Going into the woods, he found and befriended the weaker wolves who were at the lowest rank of the pack and soon brought them back to his land. There were many wolves who remained in the original woods because they were more cunning and powerful.

The weak pack grew strong under his watch and soon followed him as their alpha. To see the pack and him together would be like seeing over-joyed puppies with their father. Tails always wagged and a his face always smiled.

Soon, he gathered his pack and took them to the original woods. Sending them out, the new pack was to bring the left behind wolves to the man so he could take them back to his land. Some of the wolves were astounded at the changed wolves' confidence and joy, but many of the higher-ranked wolves growled and threatened the changed wolves as outsiders. Those who were tired of how the pack lived left with the changed wolves, and cautiously met the man. He took them with him, and the changed wolves adopted them happily as one of the pack. The man and his pack returned repeatedly to the woods. Sometimes more wolves would join their numbers, but other times, they would be chased out of the woods as outsiders.

One day, the man and his pack returned to the woods only to be barricaded by the alpha and his closest mates, fangs and growls making their points very clear. There were still many many wolves left in the original woods. The man's wolves barked and signed their message: that the man could take them to a better place. But the wild wolves threatened to attack. Calmly, the man asked his wolves to step aside. Knowing that the wild wolves would rip him to pieces, the changed wolves ignored him and only tightened their protective circle of him. He rested his hand on each wolf's head, reassuring them that he would be alright. Many whimpered against his wish, but the changed wolves broke their circle and backed away.

The man hoped that he could bring the wild wolves to himself by showing he wasn't a threat. Calmly kneeling down, making himself at the wolves' eye-level, he looked deeply into the alpha's eyes. He inwardly pleaded for the wolf to trust him, and extended his hand out to the wolf. The alpha bristled and leapt forward with a growl, sinking his teeth into the man's hand. A cry left the man's lips, and a tremor ran through his body, but he otherwise remained kneeling with his hand in the alpha's mouth. Growl's, yelps, and cries burst from the changed wolves' pack, but they stayed put, hoping their Alpha knew what he was doing and secretly afraid of the wild alpha and his pack.

The changed pack howled in horror as their Alpha was attacked by the wild pack and carried deep into the woods by their ferocious appetites. Some of the changed wolves ran after the man, but the wild ones on the edge of the mass attacked them. Those brave few were forced back onto their haunches with the rest of the changed ones. Their cries filled the area as the growls and barks of the wild pack faded away with their Alpha.

Night came, and some of the changed wolves suggested going back home, but many growls answered them. They would wait. So, like statues, the wolves sat at the edge of the woods they used to call home, hoping that their Alpha would return.

Have you ever felt like your Alpha has been carried away by the world? Has He abandoned you? Do you still have the hope that He will win in the end?

A Four-Lettered "H" Word Part 2

It may be February, but that doesn't stop Arkansas from having freakishly awesome weather. A few weeks ago, we had the most snow I have ever seen in this state, with the piling white fluff relieving us of school worries for an entire three days! Three days of sleeping in, staying up late, hanging with friends, and eating good, warm food. I also had a grand opportunity to get way ahead in my classes. Did I take it? Nope. I studied for a big test that was moved to this week, but that was the extent of my productiveness. Now, I am back to the typical hurricane-pace of a normal week, and the weather decides to play in the 70s...

*sigh*

I really wish that we also got out of school for good weather, too. Instead of sitting inside writing lab reports and studying for tests, I want to be outside hiking. But, nice weather will come for the rest of my life. Graduation in May ...kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

So, back to our hopeful conversation.

What does it mean to hope?

Goodness, how did you answer this question? I feel like this is asking "what is love"; you have to describe the effects of the cause to define it.

Romans has some pretty good verses on hoping: "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." Romans 8:24-25. Does some of this sound familiar? "But hope that is seen is not hope at all" So, hope is futuristic; we haven't seen the prize yet. We are looking ahead and determining what is good or what is desired. Hope isn't stuck in the past, and it isn't content with the present. Eyes set forward, hope gives us a reason.

What is the difference between a hope and a wish?

All of these questions were some that I jotted down when preparing for this study. The next few are just a little word emphasized, but I find terminology incredibly insightful and a great guidance in exploring ideas.

I view a wish as something desired, but with reserve. Wishing has a lesser degree of commitment than hoping. When you throw a penny into the fountain and wish for a good day, I question how much you truly expect for that wish to be fulfilled. If it does, then perhaps your wish was just a hope in disguise. I view wishing as placing an order to the etherial kitchens, but hoping...hoping has so much more meaning. When we truly hope for something, we see a good outcome that is worth fighting for. Hope drives people.

I can't remember where I saw this, if it was a movie or TV show, but it was a villain talking about how he controlled his victims. He said that giving people hope was the secret, that if you said you were going to kill them, they would fight with undying tenacity. However, if you even subtly hint that they can get out alive if they do as they are told, they will hold fast to that hope of survival and be easier to deal with.

We can wish, but it is hope that drives us to do or be something.

Take our Lord for an example: He didn't wish that we would be His children; He hoped it and sacrificed Himself to make that even more possible.

What is the difference between a hope and a dream?

I think these two are more closely related than a wish and hope. But, is there a difference? Part of me says 'yes,' and part says 'no'. I think 'no' because both will drive a person forward to grow and live life; both are definite but also highly susceptible to change. However, I think 'yes' because of the direction of the action. We are always asked what our dreams are when we're young, and the answers tend to be along the lines of "I'm going to be a teacher." "I'm going to be a football player." Mine were "I'm going to be a vet and save the rainforest." We also call our nightly mental wonderings "dreams".

So, here is one way that dreams and hopes differ: a dream's focus can never be separated from ourselves. The night-time and day-time dreams are always centered around the dreamer. It is always what I am going to be or what I am going to do. A hope can dwell in but also escape the boundaries of a first person focus. We can hope that the good in people will prevail over the evil, that our friend makes it through her struggles, that we be the best that we can be.

I think that dreams are the goals and hopes are the purpose.

Again, I getting way too wordy than you have time for, but I love exploring ideas. It seems there is going to be a part 3, but I promise it will come much sooner than this one did. I will make this promise to you: I will post part 3 next Sunday, March 6. Until then, God bless you and please feel free to comment.