To hear the sermon in it’s entirety, click here. The following are excerpts from his talk.
I was doing some ministry time for people, and as I was praying for them, I felt I heard the Lord say, “Speak to people who are suffering under the oppression of cynicism.”
I’d never really thought about that before, but I thought, “Okay.” I said out loud, “If you are struggling with cynicism, I’m willing to pray for you this morning.”
The Reality Of Hope
I basically ended up doing this all summer long. The culmination of that was a conference in yet another city, where when I gave the same word on cynicism, about 50 people came up and stood to the side. We prayed methodically for them, one by one.
My big thought is this: [bctt tweet=”If a church is a real church, it’s a place of hope. If a follower of Jesus is a real follower, hope springs eternal – Phil Strout” quote=”We are a people of hope. We shall remain a people of hope. We are communicators of hope. If a church is a real church, it is a place of hope. If a follower of Jesus is a real follower of Jesus, hope springs eternal.”]
No matter how sarcastic and negative and cynical everything else around us gets, for those who are following Jesus and buying into the kingdom of God, what will spring eternal from them is hope. The constant reality of hope. Not just wishful thinking, but true hope!
Cynicism Is Destruction
Cynicism has its roots in destruction. Now, a little bit of caution, suspicion, or doubt can be very healthy for the human psyche. Sarcasm, doubt and negativity unchecked by hope, however, turns into cynicism, which robs people of life and faith. It robs the church of its purpose. If there is one institution that cannot stand to be a place of negativity and cynicism and sarcasm, it’s the church. It may be the last institution on the earth that’s not going to buy into “Life sucks, and then you die.”
I want you to be informed, so that you will not have the same despair as those that have no hope, so that you will not live under the same battering waves of anxiety, distrust, disillusionment as do those people that have no hope.
I want to wake up in the morning believing that it can be better than yesterday; that the next six months, year, or five years will be better and that they will count.
Keep Faith and Hope
Cynicism, by definition, is a disposition to disbelieve in the sincerity or goodness of human motives and actions, with a tendency to express this by sneers and sarcasm. It’s an attitude or state of mind characterized by a general distrust of others’ apparent motives or ambitions. Basically, it’s “Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.”
We’ve all arrived at that place where we can’t be wowed, can’t be impressed. “Nothing is new under the sun.” We are all guilty of this. But can I say this might be the height of arrogance, the height of pride? If you take cynicism to its full scale, it’s actually idolatry, because cynicism basically says it can see through anything. That’s what makes the cynic. The cynic says, “I can see through so-and-so’s motives. She did that so that she could get this.”
Maybe someone comes up with a vision, a dream. And the cynic responds, “That will never work.” Or how about, “She’ll never change.” Really. Excuse me? I didn’t realize I was in the presence of the divine.
When we say that, we are evaluating someone’s actions and basing our evaluation of what the person is doing on the assumption we actually know the person’s motives! You know what you call that? Omniscience. The last time I looked, no one in this room fills the role of Omniscient One. That is the Lord and the Lord alone. So when we say, “Been there, done that,” it is actually an idolatrous statement because you are saying, “I know everything.”
Cynicism is not your friend. [bctt tweet=”Unchecked cynicism destroys culture, destroys faith, destroys hope – Phil Strout ” quote=”Cynicism will rob you of every ounce of joy if it goes unchecked. Unchecked cynicism destroys culture. Unchecked cynicism destroys faith. Unchecked cynicism destroys hope. Unchecked cynicism destroys love. “]I think I read in the Bible that we should abide in three things: Faith, hope, and love.
Anything Is Possible
Cynicism, as defined by Megan Mustain, is “lost belief in worldly possibilities.” In other words, cynicism is the loss of faith in the possibility to change, improve or move forward. Cynicism is the loss of hope in human progress.
I want to be able to hold responsible the leaders of this country, the leaders of our churches, those contributing to the collective sickness that has taken over so much of this country. You cannot sow that into the American conversation without it taking roots at some point. If you really want to help this country, really want to help people, there has to be a message of faith, hope and love.
Critical thinking and questioning is actually part of healthy human development. But critical thinking, sarcasm, and suspicion unchecked by faith, hope, and love will give birth to a cynicism that will eat your lunch and will take you out of the very purpose for which you are a follower of Jesus: to be an ambassador of hope.
Addressing Cynicism
I need you to do something for me. Look at your neighbor and say this: “There is a God, and you are not him.” The cynic knows motives. The cynic is plagued, diseased. And ultimately, the cynic is idolatrous, replacing the only one that truly knows the motives of the heart and claiming to know it himself.
Say it out loud: “There is a God, and you are not him.”
We do not have all of the information, and therefore we cannot attribute motives to actions. Instead we have a whole other way in which we do life as followers of Jesus.
The good news of the kingdom proclaimed and inaugurated by Jesus is the good news of the transformation of all people, all people groups, an entire cosmos. Transformation has come in Christ. It is coming, and it ultimately will come in its fullness. How do we address cynicism? Faith, hope, and love.
Embrace Authentic Faith
Without places for failure, disappointment and grief to be incorporated into our kingdom-oriented faith, cynicism results. So I would argue instead for the celebration of past victories and the grieving of past disappointments. It helps us to live an authentic faith of the already and the not-yet.
My Little League coach was terrific. The first time I got up to bat, at 8 or 9 years old, first game, I swung and missed three times. This was back when you actually could strike out in Little League, not the nutty rules that some leagues have today! I didn’t come within three feet of that ball. I had to walk back to sit on the bench, and I moped. My coach said, “Strout! Lift your head up! Sit on the bench and figure out what you did wrong.”
Excellent! I got up the second time. Three pitches, three strikes, back to the bench. I got up the third time: three pitches, three strikes, back to the bench. My coach didn’t baby me, didn’t make me try to feel good. No, he made me deal with that disappointment, made me figure out what I was doing wrong, wrestle with it and watch the other boys that were actually hitting the ball.
[bctt tweet=”If you are suspicious of everybody, you need a liberation.” quote=”If you are suspicious of everybody, you need a liberation.”]
Stay Childlike
Here’s what I believe. One cannot be excessively cynical about God’s work in the world while engaged in it — be it feeding the poor, preaching the gospel or praying for the sick. Rampant cynicism and active kingdom engagement cannot flourish in the same heart and mind.
Engage in the cause of Christ — faith, hope, and love — and it drives cynicism out.
When somebody says what you do just doesn’t matter, know you are hearing the voice of evil. [bctt tweet=”“Been there, done that” is not your friend; it’s a sarcasm that steals life – Phil Strout” quote=”“Been there, done that” is not your friend; it is a sarcasm that steals life. “]It’s idolatrous because it puts your self in the place of God. Instead, stay soft. Stay as a child.
