Scripture Reflections

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Heb. 5:14)

This verse from last Sunday’s reading deflates the arrogance of modern man. At some point in the history of the last few hundred years (Descartes? The Enlightenment?), a prejudice began to grow. The prejudice runs something like this: we are governed by our minds, and our minds can understand anything with sufficient mental effort.

We all fall prey to this prejudice to some degree or another. We all believe, more or less, that our mind is our governing faculty, determining right from wrong. Sufficient education solves all problems, in our estimation—crime, poverty, disease. Even our own internal struggles are met with the attempt to understand, and therefore to fix. The harsh reality is that much of life cannot be addressed purely by the mind. Great intelligence does not make a person good, and understanding does not always produce happiness.

The Bible doesn’t agree with our prejudice. It instead posits the heart as the most important faculty. By heart, the Bible doesn’t merely mean the seat of emotions, but instead the center of our entire being—what we would call our identity or will. This is the faculty that governs our actions, and this is the faculty that directs the mind. A bad heart corrupts an intelligent mind, and a good heart ennobles even the feeble mind.

So how does one train the heart, so that it might be good? The Biblical answer is habit. “Constant practice” (Heb. 5:14) shapes our hearts so that we begin to understand right and wrong, and perhaps more importantly, so that we begin to desire what is right.

It is startingly how little abstract theology (the realm of the mind) God gave his people when he revealed himself at Sinai. Instead, he gave them habits and practices that would shape their hearts. The New Testament doesn’t break this pattern! It is true we are called to understanding, but of the four basic activities of the early church, only one (apostolic teaching) is strictly focused on the mind. The other three—the sacraments, the prayer life, and the fellowship of believers—are habits, practices that train the heart.

Do not think lightly of the practices, as if they are less important than understanding! These habits transform our hearts, so that our powers of discernment will understand good and evil.

Steven+