Beating CynicismExemplo

So You Never Thought You’d Be A Cynic...

You never thought you’d be a cynic, did you?

Neither did I. Nobody does. 

It’s not like beside your high school yearbook photo you wrote, “I hope to grow jaded and distrustful of humanity by the time I hit forty. I’m also hoping my cynicism will damage my family and make me impossible to work with. Go Ravens!”

That wasn’t your headspace. You were optimistic, even hopeful. And by the time you hit your early twenties and shed the yoke of your parents, you were downright idealistic. 

Fast forward a few years, cynicism seems to be everywhere, including inside you. 

Before I was a pastor, I was a lawyer...an optimistic one. One of the biggest surprises for me is that I didn’t become cynical in law (even though I was surrounded by cynical people). Instead, my cynicism emerged in my first decade in ministry. Although we were a rapidly growing church, some people left, and as much as I didn’t want to acknowledge it, that hurt. Combine the churn with some friendships that went south, some people I deeply invested in who walked away ungrateful, and the grind of everyday life, and I found my world growing darker. I moved from believing the best about people to assuming the worst. 

That’s what cynicism does. Cynical people are skeptical people. They no longer believe the best. They don’t hope like they used to. And having been burned, they’re afraid to trust. 

I found that my heart, which used to be open and malleable, was growing hard. Hope faltered at first, and then it faded, and it’s like I came to believe it was naive to hope or dumb to still trust. 

Ever found yourself in that place? Cynics usually find it easier to identify with Solomon in today’s passage from Ecclesiastes than to believe what Jesus said in today’s verse from Matthew. 

Read both passages and see which you most identify with (and be honest). The first step in dealing with cynicism is to realize it’s happening. 

To what extent do you see cynicism in your heart and mind? Any idea how it started? Do you have a desire to defeat it? 

Pray: Lord, you are the one who softens hearts. And I sense my heart is growing more and more hard. Will you help me work through my cynicism and once again believe that in you, anything is possible? Amen.