Spiritual Habits
In his inspirational book, Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, author Philip P. Hallie conveys the intimate and uncommon story of the tiny French village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon whose members collaborated to save hundreds of innocent lives by hiding their Jews from the Nazis.
His book isn’t a documentary or a history per se, but a eulogy for the village’s minister, Andre Trochme, simultaneously honoring the community members who acted on their fundamental belief that they could best oppose the Nazi’s by saving refugees instead of shedding blood.
Haille visited the village, wondering what sort of courageous, ethical heroes could risk all to do such extraordinary good. Interviewing people in the village, Haille was astounded by their ordinariness. They weren’t particularly smart or remarkably astute people.
Haille discerned that the one factor that united them was their attendance, Sunday after Sunday, at their little church, where they heard the sermons of Pastor Trochme. Over time, they became people who just knew what to do and habitually did it. When it came time for them to be courageous, the day the Nazis came to town, they quietly did what was right.
One elderly woman, who’d faked a heart attack when the Nazis came to search her house, later remarked, “Pastor always taught us that there comes a time in every life when a person is asked to do something for Jesus. When our time came, we knew what to do.”
Our spiritual habits benefit us when we need them most.