Cynicism: The Spirit Of Our Age
by Rhett Pritchett
“The opposite of a childlike spirit is a cynical spirit. Cynicism is, increasingly, the dominant spirit of our age. Personally, it is my greatest struggle in prayer. If I get an answer to prayer, sometimes I’ll think, It would have happened anyway. Other times I’ll try to pray but wonder if it makes any difference. – Paul Miller, A Praying Life
I would definitely agree with Miller’s assessment. This is problematic because our Lord Jesus routinely commends a childlike faith. He say’s that unless we become like children, we will never enter the Kingdom of God (Mt. 18:3). Cynicism is the polar opposite of a childlike faith, it can’t trust or hope, because it’s greatest fear is being “duped”.
Again, Miller warns us, “Cynicism begins with the wry assurance that everyone has an angle. Behind every silver lining is a cloud. The cynic is always observing, critiquing, but never engaged loving and hoping (79).” This shows how dangerous cynicism is to a fruitful life of discipleship to Jesus. Our faith in Jesus works through love (Gal. 5:6), both of God and neighbor. A Spirit-empowered Christlike love is marked by “believing, hoping, bearing, and enduring all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). If cynicism has robbed us of the ability to love and hope, it will be very hard to reflect the beauty of Christ through a childlike trust in Him.
I think cynicism can appeal to our pride; I know it does to mine. When we are living as cynics, we pride ourselves on not being easily fooled or tricked. We see through everyone’s charades and we are “in the know”. C.S. Lewis brilliantly explained the problem with this logic in The Abolition of Man:
“You cannot go on 'seeing through' things for ever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to 'see through' first principles. 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.”
This is the problem with cynicism. When we see through everything, we are left with nothing. If seeing through everything is the same as to “not see”, we are in danger of being blind to the goodness of God and His work in our lives, our church, and the world. As Paul Miller cautioned, we are reduced to people who may never get fooled, but walk through this world unable to engage, hope, and love. This is not who God created us to be or redeemed us in Christ to be.
Miller calls cynicism “the spirit of our age” (77). He explains this further, stating, “When I say that cynicism is the spirit of the age, I mean it is an influence, a tone that permeates our culture, one of the master temptations of our age (77).” I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. It’s also important that we see it in the appropriate context of spiritual warfare. If cynicism isn’t from God, there’s only one other option, and it’s not good! Miller explains, “Cynicism is so pervasive that, at times, it feels like a presence. Behind the spirit of the age lies an unseen, personal evil presence, a spirit. If Satan can’t stop you from praying, then he will try to rob the fruit of praying by dulling your soul. Satan cannot create, but he can corrupt (78).”
If cynicism is a tool of the evil one and the spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:12) that hinders us from a childlike trust in Jesus that bears the fruit of faith, hope, and love; then it’s not something we should trifle with or coddle in our lives. We should ruthlessly eliminate it and see it as a hindrance to experiencing the abundant life that Jesus came to give His sheep (Jn. 10:10).
It’s worth asking the question, what are things in my life that cultivate cynicism in my heart? Is it the entertainment that I routinely consume? Is it the hopeless negativity on my Facebook news feed or the news that keep me staring into the darkness more often than into the “light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6)? Are my deepest relationships a factory for cynicism or do they build one another up in the gospel? These are valuable questions; we only have one life and we are called to use it to follow Jesus as His Kingdom people.
If we’re being honest, there’s a lot about life in this world that makes cynicism the easy route. It may be disappointments, broken relationships, evil in us and society, scandal in the global Church, prayers we haven’t seen answered how and as quickly as we’d like, suffering, sickness, and the loss of those we love. Childlike faith isn’t a childish or foolish faith that pretends everything is okay when it isn’t or stuffs our hurts and questions deep down inside. Its confidence isn’t in sinful human beings, world rulers, current events, or the illusion of an easy, pain free life. Our faith is in who God is and what He has done in Christ.
The truth is, He’s our good Father. He is so good and He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to live, die for our sins, and rise again so that we could be adopted as His children. Our hope is in Him. Not in hoping that we won’t suffer. In fact, we are promised that we will (Jn. 16:33, 2 Tim. 3:12). Our hope is for those who love Him, that He is working all things together for good (Rom. 8:28) and that our present sufferings can’t be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us when Jesus returns (Rom. 8:18). He will make all things new, including us! We will see His face and enjoy Him forever in a new world free from Satan, sickness, sadness, and death (Rev. 21)!
The cure for our cynicism is found in childlike faith in the goodness of God, most clearly revealed in the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Let’s pray to have the spiritual eyes to begin to comprehend the depths of His love (Eph. 3:17-18) and help others to do the same! We have the opportunity to be a people that stand out as lights in a dark, cynical world by learning to be like children who trust our loving Father.
Miller, Paul E. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World. NavPress, 2017.
Lewis, C.S. The Abolition of Man. Harper One, 1974.