What Harvard study says about kids raised in church

A new Harvard study investigated the health and mental health of children and teenagers who were raised with religious or spiritual practices. What they found was fascinating.

Those who attended religious services at least once a week as children or teens were about 18 percent more likely to report being happier in their twenties than those who never attended services. They were almost 30 percent more likely to do volunteer work and 33 percent less likely to use drugs in their twenties.

In addition, people who prayed and meditated individually on a daily basis had more life satisfaction, were better able to process emotions, and were more forgiving. They were less likely to have sex at an earlier age and to have a sexually transmitted disease.

The Forbes article reporting on the study concludes: “Some of the fundamental habits that humans have been doing for eons (praying, meditating) might actually have a lot more value than we tend to think.”

By God’s design, a divine-human partnership is essential to human flourishing. Consider an example.

“A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

The future of Israel was in jeopardy. A massive Midianite army numbering 135,000 troops (Judges 8:10) was ready to annihilate the Jewish forces. Gideon mustered 32,000 soldiers, but the Lord led him to dismiss all but three hundred (Judges 7:2-8). God’s purpose was to show the Israelites that their deliverance came from the Lord and not from their hand.

Armies in the ancient world conveyed signals through “trumpets” (usually rams’ horns). They often marched at night to the light of torches. Gideon’s original army had three hundred such trumpets and torches. The torches were carried inside clay jars so as not to alert the enemy, then the jars were broken when the assault was to begin. The trumpets were used to convey orders to the troops.

Gideon’s forces advanced on the Midianite army, each carrying a torch in one hand and a trumpet in the other…