Am I becoming cynical? Cynicism is an overall distrust of people, and after church hurt, divorce, betrayal, or any kind of trauma, it’s easy to slip into it without even knowing. In this episode, we look at where cynicism comes from and how to fight it, starting with 2 Corinthians 3.
This semester we’ve covered hard topics: belonging, church hurt, divorce, and unwanted stories. And with topics like these, it’s really easy to fall into cynicism. This is the first of two parts on it, in our Holding the Tension series.
Some of what’s covered:
What cynicism actually is, and what it sounds like. “I’ve tried church, but I’m not going back.” “You can’t trust anyone.”
Why cynics are just hurt people, and how our hurt ends up driving our behavior: keeping us isolated, arms crossed, unwilling to trust another person ever again.
Why we can’t stay cynics, because what we’re really saying is that God can’t be trusted. We often translate our experiences with people onto God.
What Paul was saying in 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 about veils, and why “unveiled” can also mean “zoomed out,” a perspective shift from looking at only ourselves to seeing what God sees.
How beauty, nature, music, a good book, or a small child can cause us to look up, and how worship is how we fight cynicism.
Cynicism toward the Church. Why the global Church is bigger than the one church that hurt us, why we can’t give up on the Bride of Christ, and what it looks like to ask what my role is now.
And the tension in the middle of it. When we talk about healing and moving forward, it can feel like we’re supposed to just forgive, move on, and be “honoring,” but silencing people under the guise of “honor” is not Godly either.
Part 1 of 2 in the “Holding the Tension” series, on the Go With God Podcast.
Mentioned in the Episode:
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