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Celebration Must Resist Cynicism

Cynicism is leaking into all of our hearts, accompanied by a sense of hopelessness. Even though we live at a time of history when we are advancing at every technological level, and bookshelves and TV shows are flooded with self-help experts telling us how to have incredible lives, our society is crippled by depression, opioid addiction, emptiness, divorce, promiscuity, loneliness, and violence. 

And this deep cynicism hasn’t just become normal in the culture around us—it is moving into the church. We are cynical about anyone who shows genuine enthusiasm, believing their naiveté will be crushed by pain. We are cynical about God moving, because we’ve witnessed too many unanswered prayers. We are cynical that things could change for the better, because we know how hard life can be. 

But the Scriptures declare that God is good, and his goodness should be celebrated. If we slowed down for a minute and broke the cynical feeds, every now and then we would be surprised by the work of God in our own lives and the lives of others around us. 

Maybe all the bad news is clouding our perspective of what is happening in the world. Maybe we have been trained to pay attention to the darkness and ignore the light. Maybe there is more grace and redemption happening, if we just knew where to look. Maybe we have to learn to identify and celebrate the good and learn to resist a culture of cynicism. 

When we take time to celebrate God’s presence and redemption, we are bringing the glory of God into the brokenness of the world around us. We’re accurately representing the God we serve and offering tangible grace to the world. As Paul so perfectly wrote, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). 

May your celebration overflow in your life and resist the cynicism we face today.

Where do you see God’s goodness at work in your life? Celebrate it!