Christian Cynicism
Cynicism arises from bitter disappointment. Think about those land mines that have suddenly exploded in your life, bursting long-held ideas and expectations into shards and shrapnel. Sometimes the disappointment is less abrupt. Rather than violent collisions, we may imperceptibly ingest some disturbing reality over a long period of time until one day we wake up and wonder how we became so dour and disillusioned. Disillusionment, however, is actually a gift. To be disillusioned is to have our illusions dispersed. In describing healthy Christian community, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote “the sooner this shock of disillusionment comes to an individual and to a community the better for both.” Falsehoods and misconceptions must be exposed and dismantled for a sustainable and healthy faith. So disillusioned Christians may be among the most insightful members of our churches. The problem is that disillusionment hurts. Consider Saul after the disillusioning experience on the Damascus road when he discovered that he was actually assaulting the God he assumed he was so devoutly serving. Yet those three days of blindness and fasting (days that were surely full of unspeakable dismay) came to an end with the ministry of Ananias—the pain from his collision with a disturbing reality was healed and the church still reaps the fruits today of his faithful service to the gospel. Shattered illusions can leave our souls brutally injured. When we resist spiritual rehabilitation and restoration, we (often unwittingly) chart a course down dark and cynical paths. Cynicism arises when our brokenness sours into bitterness, when our spiritual wounds become infected. Disillusionment is a gift … but cynicism is a sickness.
(Source: thegospelcoalition.org)
-
melizabethhughes liked this
-
meelia liked this
-
simdigi reblogged this from jaredcardwell
-
jaredcardwell posted this
