Leroy Barber's Blog
Cynicism vs. Hope / Apr 22, 10:32 AM
I was raised in a church where hope was the order of the day. My family was not rich. In fact, we struggled quite a bit financially as my mother worked to raise four boys. There was injustice all around, but there was hope. It was preached from the pulpit on Sunday and lived out in my mother each day as she prayed and sang God’s praises before me. My school teachers used it as motivation, and bible teachers pumped it into my spirit. The older saints, as we called them, prayed about it each week at prayer, and the deacons hummed it in their prayers. Hope. Hope for a better day or hope that God would meet the day’s need. Hope that there was a God and that he cared deeply for me and would make up for the pain and injustice I saw around me each day. In fact, I’ve learned more about hope from older people who have lived through racism and injustice firsthand than I have from privileged people who have barely struggled in their lives. I have seen hope work in my life. But still I turn from it much too often.
I turn to cynicism. Cynicism has taken the place in my heart where hope used to reign. I am still a dreamer, but I have compromised my dreams for cynicism more often than I care to admit these days. Cynicism floats around in my head most days as I look at the conditions of my neighborhood or if I think about the environment or the fact that so many of my brothers are in jail. I often spout off about what the “church” is or is not doing and how I think that Christians are falling short of the mark that Jesus set. I often justify my cynicism as being a critical thinker. I am beginning to think that cynicism might be the luxury of the privileged because if you are not privileged by race or power or money, then hope, not cynicism, is what you rely on for life. If you see no future and can’t connect your life to a bigger purpose, cynicism works like a poison, destroying your spirit.
Some would say that hope lacks substance, that it is a tool of the weak, but positive change cannot happen for a person in poverty or of less privilege if there is no hope. Hope is always the fuel for change; it refreshes the heart of weary people and gives strength to the oppressed. It is a reason to persevere in struggle. In fact hope may be a sign of strength, an instrument of the brave. Romans 5 declares, “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”
In many cases our team members arrive ready to serve and offer encouragement. However, some are surprised at how much we learn from our new neighbors about what it means to persevere through struggle, about hope. It’s a neighborly exchange where each learns from and encourages the other. With your support, we will not be disappointed.
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Well said and very timely for my own life. I myself am a person of privilege and rely too much on me and “things that are easily accessible for me” than relying on and solely trusting in God. Thanks.
By Dan Endy / May 1, 03:58 PM / #