How To Keep Cynicism From Killing A Generation
Source: The Blazing Center
[This is guest post from Ricky Alcantar. This is part two of a series on cynicism and faith. You can read his first post here.]
I learned at an early age that no amount of “believing” would turn my roller-hockey team into the Mighty Ducks, no amount of inspirational speeches would improve my horrific math skills, and no amount of practice on the basketball court would overcome the fact that I’m a short, un-athletic 5’ 9”. I’m sure you have similar disappointments. But those things should not make us cynical--far from it. Instead, these disappointments should do two things for us:
Allow Yourself to be Disillusioned
Long before emo and post-rock the writer of Ecclesiastes wrote:
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
(Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 ESV)
That’s a guy that’s pretty disillusioned. And that’s a good thing.
The book of Ecclesiastes spends page of after page affirming the ultimate vanity of almost everything in life. In contemporary language the writer says that no amount of vitamins or organic foods will keep you from death, no amount of career-advancement will keep you from being ultimately replaced, no amount of self-help books will keep you from losing your wisdom to old-age.
Many times, being disillusioned is a good thing. Why? Because we’re so quick to set our desires for peace and comfort and security and joy on the wrong things. But a new boyfriend/girlfriend will give us the comfort we need, a new iPhone will not give us the identity we crave, a retirement fund will not give us the security we want. God wants us to see that these things have a good chance to ultimately disappoint us.
Don’t Allow Yourself to be Disillusioned
But allowing the stuff of this world to disillusion us to the empty promises of the world does not mean we’re cynical. Instead, that points us to what ultimately won’t disappoint us. At the end of the book, the writer of Ecclesiastes concludes: The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments…(Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV). Ultimately Ecclesiastes points us to God as the only un-vain thing in the world.
In the Psalms the Psalmists often honestly pour out their hearts to God but are never without hope. Often we hear language like this: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God… (Psalm 42:5 ESV).
In our world “hope” is often a punchline because its failed so often. Hope has been reduced to wishful thinking. But when the Bible speaks of hope in God it speaks of a sure and certain and steadfast hope that will not be disappointed. Hope is only as strong as its object and our object of hope is God.
Peter says that God has “has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3-4 ESV). Our hope is not a dead or fading hope, it is a living hope. Peter says our hope is as alive as Jesus Christ is.
How does this keep us from being disillusioned? Cynicism is a right view of a world without God’s redemptive activity. But God is active even now in the world around us. This means that in every situation that seems hopeless we ultimately have hope because God is actively working for our good and for his glory (Romans 8:28). There will be many times things seem to be falling apart--careers, relationships, churches--but God is powerful working for the restoration of all things and nothing on earth will stop his plans.
So don’t be cynical. Hope in God.
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