The Despair of a House Sparrow

by Erika Browning, Women's Ministries

It’s been a while since I’ve read a superbly written novel:   the kind that makes you want to roll the words around in your mouth and stop to daydream about a lively description. The necessity of a dictionary close at hand is a bonus! My book club is reading the delightful The Phantom Toll Booth this month. It’s a feast for the imagination, especially for word-lovers.

In the first chapter we are introduced to the main character, Milo. He’s a bored, unhappy boy. Know any of those? “Nothing really interested him – least of all the things that should have.” I think some adults I know fall into that category – sometimes I’m in there too. What does it mean when we as believers are bored with life? We can notice a cause of our apathy and see the resulting fallout in the following passage in chapter one:

“It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time,” [Milo] remarked one day as he walked dejectedly home from school. “I can’t see the point in learning to solve useless problems, or subtracting turnips from turnips, or knowing where Ethiopia is or how to spell February.” And, since no one bothered to explain otherwise, he regarded the process of seeking knowledge as the greatest waste of time of all… “And worst of all,” he continued sadly, “there’s nothing for me to do, nowhere I’d care to go, and hardly anything worth seeing.” He punctuated this last thought with such a deep sigh that a house sparrow singing nearby stopped and rushed home to be with his family.

One of the first things we see is that the source of Milo’s boredom is that he doesn’t value knowledge. He regards seeking it as the greatest waste of time there could possibly be. To be sure, seeking knowledge for its own sake is not really the point of life, but what does the Bible have to say about seeking knowledge?

“An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” (Proverbs 18:15)

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)

“that their hearts may be encouraged…to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3)

I find that when I am not diligently plumbing the depths of God’s Word to seek knowledge of Him and wisdom for living, I too can get bored. We were made to seek Him, and He wants to reveal Himself to us over our entire lifetime. It’s like the greatest of all treasure hunts…what could be more boredom-busting than an epic treasure hunt?

The second thing we see is that Milo’s unhappiness has a profound effect on those around him, in this case, a little house sparrow. One minute the tiny avian vocalist is singing his heart out, as sparrows do, the next minute he’s rushing to escape the onslaught of melancholy and find solace with his family. The Scriptures also have something to say about the positive effects of joy on those around us.

“Therefore, we are comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.” (2 Corinthians 7:13)

“For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” (Philemon 1:7)

“And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.” (Acts 15:31)

“The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.” (Proverbs 15:30)

I can’t imagine the little sparrow would be in such desperate need of comfort after encountering any of these scenarios, can you? We like to think we are being “authentic” when we let others experience our unhappiness, but we can also be authentic by letting others experience our joy! If our “authentic” self is always negative and unhappy, then maybe we need to seek out the treasure of the knowledge of God and let it transform us into people of authentic joy.