WHAT HOBBITS TEACH US, PART 1
by Anne Marie Gazzolo
Hobbits appear unlikely heroes, but God uses improbable
people at times to fulfill a role that He specially designed for them. As is
said of David in the Bible, “the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on
the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7, NRSV).
This fits the five hobbit heroes we encounter in the Red Book. I wish to
explore in this essay the lessons we can learn from the “chosen and selected”
Bilbo (Hobbit 21).
Bilbo has
to overcome the fears of his Baggins side in order to embrace the adventure
that awaits him. As I spoke of in my previous post “Tookish Dreams,”
sometimes we have the same struggle he does. The Took in us wants to pursue
dreams, and the Baggins part wants to stay safe and conventional. Too often we
heed the negative thinking that convinces us that we do not have the time,
money, energy, or opportunity to make our desires come true. We must not
abandon our true responsibilities, of course, but would it not be better if we
could fulfill them in a way that fed our soul and not just our pocketbook and
got us excited about going to work rather than dreading the drudgery?
Just as
Bilbo was chosen, God has also selected us for a particular task. We can
discern this by the interests, talents, and abilities that He gave us. He did
not bestow these graces upon anyone else in exactly the same way. Though lost
for the most part amid the cacophony that invades our daily life, we hear at
times snatches of the particular notes in the Great Music that our soul
especially hearkens to, and we long for the day we can truly sing our heart
out. Unfortunately, we learn to stifle such things, just as Bilbo has whenever
he heard the adventurous melodies that stirred him since childhood.
Nonetheless, we must still be ready for the special day that God calls us.
On some
level, Bilbo is aware of this. In “The Quest of Erebor,” Gandalf offers his
hypothesis of why the hobbit made the highly unusual choice not to marry: “I guessed
that he wanted to remain ‘unattached’ for some reason deep down which he did
not understand himself – or would not acknowledge, for it alarmed him. He
wanted, all the same, to be free to go when the chance came, or he had made up
his courage” (Unfinished Tales 331).
Bilbo
learns much on his journey about the strengths he did not even know he had. His
growth and endurance bolsters our own. God already knows that we can be heroes
if the right circumstances come. We have to find this out in the thick of
things. Bilbo would not have discovered the seeds of greatness that lay within
him if he had continued his sheltered life in the Shire. Neither can we.
As Bilbo
continues his adventure and overcomes one fear after another, his courage
increases. At the end of his chase after Gollum, the Ring-finder fights within
himself one of the most important battles ever waged in Middle-earth. He finds
that his would-be murderer has unintentionally brought him close to the exit,
then stops there, blocking his way. In Bilbo’s desperation to escape with his
life, he faces the temptation to kill Gollum. Luckily, Bilbo still has the
presence of mind to heed the presence of God. The impulse to kill Gollum
disappears as fast as it comes. Though not speaking specifically of the hobbit,
Richard Mathews notes, “Time and time again the spiritual decisions of the most
consequence are faced by individuals alone” (Lightning 32). Bilbo intuitively understands the terrible darkness
Gollum lives in, not just physically but spiritually. This realization turns
the creature from a feared enemy into a fellow human being with a tormented
heart and soul. We need to be watchful for such moments in our own life and
give mercy if possible and not punish someone for a crime they have not yet committed.
Bilbo has no idea what impact his actions and choices will have on his world.
Neither do we with our decisions.
Bilbo
reveals his inherent decency once more after he decides that he must re-enter
the tunnels and search for his missing companions. Katharyn Crabbe notes in a
parallel between Bilbo and Christ the great love that is ready to lay itself
down to save its friends (J. R. R.
Tolkien 41-42). Bilbo’s choices to aid the dwarves puts his life in peril
again and again: in Mirkwood battling the monstrous spiders, in escaping the
Elven-king’s palace, and in entering Smaug’s lair, just to name a few. He is
also the one who has hope when the dwarves are in near despair. In surrendering
the Arkenstone to Bard and the Elven-king and returning back to his friends to
sleep peacefully, he demonstrates his enduring faithfulness to his friends, as
well as showing that the cure for dragon-sickness is to give your treasure away
willingly. The contented sleep he has shows the spiritual treasure he gains in
letting go of material goods.
These are
just a few of the vital things our esteemed burglar and hero teach us. It would
be well for us to heed the wisdom of his heart which dictate his actions and
which should dictate ours in order to this indeed a merrier world.
Works Cited
- Crabbe, Katharyn. J. R. R. Tolkien. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1981.
- Mathews, Richard. Lightning from a Clear Sky. San Bernardino, CA: Borgo Press, 1978.
- New Revised Standard Version Bible. Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.
- Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
- ———. Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980.
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Anne Marie Gazzolo is the author of Moments of Grace and Spiritual Warfare in The Lord of the Rings
(WestBow Press, 2012), which also includes a chapter on The Hobbit. For more details and to order the book, please visit
http://ow.ly/ez2dT.
Sign up for her mailing list at
www.annemariegazzolo.com
and get a free copy of her ebook, Pathways
Through Middle-earth: A Guide for Heart, about applying to your life the
lessons taught by Hobbits, Wizards, Elves, Men, and Dwarves. Find her also at www.facebook.com/annemariegazzolo and www.pinterest.com/authorannemarie.
