by Paul, Elder
Recently my daughter introduced me to a book called “A Praying Life” by Paul E. Miller. She and her husband have been going through this book in their small group and were greatly blessed by Miller’s insights. Most significant and convicting for me was what he had to say about cynicism.
Cynicism is, at its root, an unwillingness to trust. We become cynical over time because our hopes and expectations have been repeatedly dashed to pieces or because we have learned that behavior from someone else. It kills prayer simply because it is the opposite of childlike faith.
Now before the cynic rises up in us and starts smirking at this statement about “childlike faith,” let us remember that it was Jesus who said that we must “become as little children” to be able to function in the realm of faith. Faith is not naïve optimism, or expectation that it will all work out in the end.
The psalmist had it right when he said, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Unlike the cynic, he knew that reality was not grounded in his own experience. He had profound hope because he knew there was a solidness and sameness in God Himself. The cynic, on the other hand, will only give lip service to prayer, he has no real expectation or hope in God because his experience has told him that realness is found only in what he sees, and he sees through everything.
Miller quotes C. S. Lewis on this, “You cannot go on ‘explaining away forever;’ you will find that you have explained explanation itself away. You cannot go on ‘seeing through’ things forever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it... If you see through everything, then everything is transparent, but a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To see through all things is the same as not to see.” (Quoted from “The Abolition of Man.”)
Satan is a cynic. He “saw right through” God’s plan for Adam and Eve. Did God really say thus and so? Does He really have your best interests at heart or is He holding something back? It sounds monstrous when put in such plain light, but isn’t that where we are in our heart if we are cynical? Aren’t we saying, “I resent God for holding out on me.”? Experience tells me I’m getting a bad deal. After a few dozen heartbreaks and colossal disappointments, our naïve optimism is dashed to pieces, and we are convinced by our reason to stop hoping and expecting. We become wary and untrusting. This is the way of the world, not the way of faith. By “seeing” we have become blind to the truth.
What, then, is the answer? We must see Him. This requires a different faculty, the faculty of faith. We can see Jesus in our daily circumstances. In the mundane things of life is exactly where we must see Him or we won’t see Him at all.
Miller uses the example of Psalm 23. God has indeed led many of us into the valley of the shadow of death. Our optimism has dried up. We can’t see the way through. On every side we are surrounded with the “dead men’s bones” of those who have gone before. Very hopeless. Very depressing. The psalmist somehow sees differently, though. In this place he is able to enjoy a feast. The enemies aren’t gone, they’re just not eating. He has two constant companions, two sheepdogs at his heels herding him through. Their names are Goodness and Mercy. He sees them every day, even in the valley. He is on a path following a leader, One who had gone through this same valley before. The dogs are responding to the will of the Shepherd up ahead. There is purpose in his gait because he sees the unseen Shepherd. His confident assertion is, “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not be in want,” even here! I am satisfied, I am thankful, He is good and He is enough for me.
Cynicism is sin. It is unbelief and we need to aggressively repent of it. How? Do the deeds we did at first, return to the love of our espousals. Let us start looking for Jesus, acknowledge His presence in our gathering, in our brothers and sisters, in our circumstances, even in our trials.
He will lead us to the rock that is higher than ourselves… He will lead us to Himself.
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