The Sober Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice. It seems like an odd way to discuss a Biblical life, but it was interesting to me to see a modern author’s take on what moral issues the characters from Jane Austen’s famous novels were able to use in their fictional stories. Apparently, according to the author, Austen’s characters are able to navigate relationships and decisions with a sort of pseudo  religiosity, without all the bells and whistles of Scripture.

To me, though, the reality of Austen’s good characters resonate the Christian upbringing Austen had herself. Without a moral backbone, things like purity, respect and kindness to others, and even propriety and thoughtfulness jump out the secular window. One of the main issues the author talked about was the steadiness of Austen’s characters; may we say, the maturity of Austen’s characters? They act like adults in their relationships and decisions. There is no name calling, cat calling, berating or belittling. Instead, humbled by circumstances and corrected by peers and elders alike, the “good” characters so revered in Austen’s writings come out in the end with more moral fiber than ever.

There is the same sort of steadiness, daresay, seriousness, of pursuing temperate character in Scripture. “A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,” Prov. 17:27 reminds us, “and a man of understanding is even-tempered.” Proverbs is scattered with a call towards silence instead of speaking; it is a fool who blabs and bickers, whereas in this modern day society of cellphones and Facebook, all gossip is fair game. The more talk, the merrier. It is interesting to note that the very behavior the world condemns as introverted and unsociable, the Bible commends as wise.

Sobriety and humility continue to exhibit themselves in the way we live our lives as adults, growing maturely in the words of God. In Romans 12:3, Paul advises, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Our attitudes about ourselves and our behaviors should not be flippant, but considerate and full of sobriety. It is not prudish, but prudent.

It is with some frustration that the author of Hebrews reminds his recipients that they are still children, clinging to elementary teachings of the Word; indeed, not soberly prepared at all. He echoes 1 Cor. 3: 1-3 (“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you no worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?”) in which Paul struggles to place the believers under his care into more mature and sober thinking. For the author of Hebrews, maturity equates with a search for righteousness. Otherwise, we drink milk and maintain our childish ways to the world.

“We have much to say about this [the elementary teachings of Jesus as High Priest], but it is hard to say because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (Heb. 5:11-14)

Today in high schools everywhere, the trend is for the loudest mouth to get the most popularity, and it is the angry manager who wrathfully proceeds over an entire company. Yet in Scripture, the sober-minded are rewarded with a closer pathway in conjunction with righteousness, a higher character, and a more noble calling towards others in our life. How much do we listen and humbly (soberly) make our choices in our response, whether it is through silence or speech?