Liturgy 013: Cynical Cynicism and Christianity
☕️ 5 Minutes to be present to God, Self, and Others
🙏 Prayer
Slowly pray this breath prayer:
INHALE: Father, Son, Holy Spirit
EXHALE: Renew My Faith In Your Love
Through Christ our LORD.
Amen.
📖 Lectio Divina
Psalm 1, CEB
The truly happy person doesn’t follow wicked advice, doesn’t stand on the road of sinners, and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful.
Instead of doing those things, these persons love the Lord’s Instruction, and they recite God’s Instruction day and night!
They are like a tree replanted by streams of water, which bears fruit at just the right time and whose leaves don’t fade. Whatever they do succeeds.
💡 Quote
Without meaning to, I’d long since become rather post-Christian in my own language.
I’d been turned off by the twisted messages of a prosperity gospel, so I’d stopped thanking God for his provision.
I’d been manipulated one time too many by someone telling me God’s will for me and disappointed one time too many by God not telling me his will for me, so I just stopped crediting him, stopped listening for him.
But if Scripture is about anything, it’s about moment by moment reliance on the Spirit of God, trusting that every good and perfect gift is from him, that he is with us in suffering, that his Spirit guides and comforts us.
—Mandy Smith
🧘 Reflection
Is cynical Christian an oxymoron?
Rhetorical question notwithstanding, there are legitimate reasons for Christians to be cynical these days. “Church Hurt” is as common as ever. “Church Leader Scandal” is a recurring headline.
Also, being cynical is en vogue. In a culture that celebrates negative headlines and pessimistic hot takes, cynicism comes across as intelligent and thoughtful.
But what effect is cynicism having on our souls?
Another rhetorical question notwithstanding, I offer a possible response to our cynicism:
Try greeting each cynical thought with a lovely hello, followed by a compassionate examination of any underlying emotions of anger, hurt, or fear. Name those emotions before God. Let cynicism lead you to the place of prayer and renewal.
🕊️ Blessing
May you find the Psalm 1 blessing of resisting the seat of mockers and the disrespectful. May your mind be filled instead of the strange new world of Scripture that forms a people of hope and enduring joy.
Amen.