Is a fish aware of the water it breathes, moves and lives in? Are we aware of the cultural attitudes we are saturated with daily, and how they affect us? Perhaps no more so than the fish.
Most of us don’t go through our day analyzing what is behind the messages we receive through the media and society in general. We’re too immersed in the soup to make sense of it.
The fact that we don’t notice them doesn’t make cultural influences any less real — or less dangerous.
One of the most insidious attitudes of our day is a mindset that is the very opposite of faith. No doubt you’re familiar with eye-rolling, sarcasm, understatement and barbed comments.
This is the language of cynicism.
Cynicism is not only the opposite of faith; it is the opposite of having a heart of worship.
Paul Miller, author of A Praying Life offers a brilliant analyses of how our culture came to be so cynical and how this attitude affects our prayer life:
“The cynic is always observing, critiquing, but never engaged, loving and hoping….To be cynical is to be distant. While offering a false intimacy of being ‘in the know,’ cynicism actually destroys intimacy.”
Miller explains how the cynic assumes everyone has an angle — including God — and protects himself from disappointment by remaining aloof.
Problem is, by attempting to protect yourself from pain, you also shut out the possibility of experiencing joy.
I don’t like to think of myself as a cynic. I want to experience childlike joy, wonder, awe and pure worship. You, too, right?
Yet the malady of cynicism creeps into our souls on any given day, because our culture inhales and exhales the stuff all day long.
The easy thing to do is to go along with common behavior and speak the language of sarcasm and understatement, even in times of great joy.
My husband and I visited Banff National Park last week. On the way there, we stopped and wandered through the woods to see if there happened to be a view. Suddenly, the trail opened up to reveal the stunning, sapphire-blue mountain lake you see in the photo.
Delighted, we joked, “Well, this will do! I guess if we have to look at something, it might as well be this!”
Why was it so easy for me to make those remarks instead of bursting out in spontaneous praise to the Creator of heaven and earth for the beauty he allowed me to see that day? It was pure gift!
It’s frankly easier to go with the cultural flow and veil my joy with sarcasm rather than offering up a childlike sacrifice of thanksgiving. But this is far from a harmless choice.
The writer of Hebrews puts it this way:
“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” –Hebrews 3:12
Cynicism not just kind of a bad idea; it’s flat out evil. So how can we escape its influence?
Pride is the birthplace of cynicism. I’m coming to the conclusion that if I want to experience real joy, deep gratitude, a lovely sense of wonder, and unfettered praise to God, I must lay down my personal pride.
Here’s the plan: Instead of responding to an awe-inspiring scene with pride-protecting sarcasm, I want to use the loftiest language I can find to praise my God and King. (The book of Psalms provides lots of fodder for inspiration.)
God fully deserves my most ardent, heartfelt worship — and none of my cynicism.
What are some words you can use to worship God with your whole heart today?
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Miller’s observation that “To be cynical is to be distant.” really resonated with me. I think that being cynical allows me to appear to be engaged when I am actually creating space to buffer disappointment. That is not seeing things with the hopeful eyes of faith.
Yes, cynicism is a clever but insidious thing. It appeals to our desire to appear wise, yet prevents us from operating in true wisdom.
Thank you for this wonderful post, Susanne. Upon seeing the title, I thought you would be sharing about how worldly influences in general affect us, but you honed in on cynicism. Such a conviction for me. I am guilty of letting this cloud my heart of praise. Thank you for the timely reminder to change our attitudes, and thereby our hearts.
Our culture is saturated with the stuff. It’s hard to notice the things that are so common, and how they affect our heart. So glad it resonated, Ursula!
If you respond to everything cynically, it’s a negative. It can be a positive though. “”Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.”
Philip’s response is positive, yes. I believe that skepticism can be healthy in that it spares us from naive optimism, which can actually lead to cynicism. But my point here is that when it comes to God, he deserves praise, not cynicism. Thanks for sharing!
Lovely Susanne! This really spoke to me today and made me think about how I also take His amazing creation for granted; praise doesn’t always come as my first nature. Thank you for the reminder.
It’s so easy to do, Frances! Glad this spoke to you.