“The Lord strengthens and protects me; I trust in him with all my heart. I am rescued and my heart is full of joy; I will sing to him in gratitude.” (Psalm 26:7, NET).
In a June 9th Wall Street Journal article, the topic of cynicism was discussed. Cynicism is defined as the belief that others operate purely from self interest instead of the interest of others. Cynicism can make us believe that our own ideas and efforts are useless, and we become skeptics of almost anything that is different from our own opinion. Our attitudes deteriorate and we drag other people down with us.
In the article, Jamil Zaki, a Stanford University psychology professor says: “Cynicism isn’t getting us anywhere good...if it were a pill, it would really be a poison.
Betrayed once, we practice ‘pre-disappointment,’ always assuming others will let us down. The mindset feels productive and cunning, like we’ll be able to protect ourselves. But it can actually stunt us, hurting our mental and physical health [and I would add, our spiritual health]. By never trusting, cynics never lose; they also never win.”
Just look around at what’s going on in the world. The destruction of moral standards that were held by societies as part of the social contract being set aside in the last few decades for the sake of liberality and libertinism. And everywhere the concerned Christian looks, she sees systems in place that prevent a return to the solid ways of the past. These systems were the very ones that people felt like they could trust to preserve the moral way of life they had come to depend upon. People believe that their trust has been betrayed and there is nowhere else to turn. So it’s no wonder that Christians have become cynics. But brothers and sisters, it’s not healthy for us and it’s not an effective witness to the world of our relationship with God. And it can be even more deadly to our witness if we allow cynicism to creep into the Church itself. Arguments over petty issues or bitter resignation that some decision will happen anyway only serve Satan’s purposes, not Christ’s.
We must find a way to pull ourselves out of that death spiral as we consider events in the world and events in the Church. And that way is to take the focus off ourselves and others and refocus on God, who is always true. In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul helps us see that the betrayal of others that may have hardened us does not change the objective truth of God’s faithfulness. In Romans 3:3 he says, “What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar.”
It is inevitable that people are going to fail us, and sometimes over and over again. And it is inevitable that we are going to fail others, sometimes over and over again. Afterall, we are all fallen human beings. But God will never fail us. That’s the God we want others who need a Savior to see: the God who didn’t leave us behind when we broke his trust, the God who promised to save us even while we were sinners, and the God who fulfilled his promise by sending his only Son incarnate in the weak flesh of human beings to die for our sake. When Christians leave behind the tempting opportunity of cynicism, they leave behind sin and replace it with the fruits of the Spirit, the very grace needed not only to heal themselves but also the grace needed to heal the world.
Your Servant,
Pastor John