To truly hope in Christ is to confidently reject all forms of cynicism and to, instead, see the glory of Christ at work in all things. Such hope leads us to live out Christ-like lives rather than cynical lives—lives of kindness, tenderheartedness, forgiveness, and love. The one who has been forgiven by Christ has absolutely no reason to ever turn cynical. To state it positively: Because we have been forgiven by Christ, we have the greatest hope of all people in the world—Christ is building His Kingdom. 

Terrible things seem to happen every single day. When I was a kid, I almost despised my parents watching the evening news because I always knew that it would show multiple accidents, deaths, homicides, fires, and so forth. It was a huge downer, and it was always hard to go to sleep afterwards. It often left me feeling cold, bitter, and cynical.

Today, I have that same sort of dread when I open social media because it seems to be nearly guaranteed that, if I scroll for just a few seconds, I’ll find today’s latest and worst news headlines.  Just a few weeks ago, I was bombarded with news of wars, deaths, famines, and a well-known teacher’s fall from grace. It was difficult that day, and in the days that followed, to not feel angry, discouraged, and generally down about everything I’d read.

It can be hard to not become cynical when we’re constantly bombarded with bad news. People are dying, politicians lying, taxes rising, gas prices spiraling, and everywhere we look, there’s news of wars and rumors of wars. Add to the bad news the constant source of vitriol being spewed forth by those who inhabit social media spaces, and we have one of the most toxic concoctions imaginable, enough to strip even the most joy-filled of their happy exteriors.

However, one of the most important things for us to remember as Christians in our effort to avoid cynicism is that our understanding of the world is not dictated by the news but by the Scriptures. Though the world around us falls apart, we can continue to hope in Christ. The Christian, of all people in the world, ought never turn cynical when hard times come but, instead, ought to hope all the more strongly in Christ.

The Commandment to Not Be a Cynic

Many would probably agree that cynicism is mostly bad. It’s not fun to be around the sort of person that’s always cynical, always complaining, and never at peace with others or filled with any sort of joy. The truth, however, is that Scripture actually warns us against such attitudes and commands us to have no part in them.

The commandment against cynicism, and all forms of anger and bitterness for that matter, comes to us directly in Ephesians 4:31, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”

Take notice how the Apostle Paul connects a bitter spirit to someone who is angry. He connects wrath, anger, and clamor (frenzied shouts from a loud person seeking attention) with someone who slanders others. This is usually wrapped up with a of malice—that is to say, such a person is typically malicious to others and seeks to do them harm in whatever way they can.

A cynical person will behave in all of these sinful ways because they have no genuine hope.

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