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Every Thumb's Width

Cynicism Is Not Wisdom

“Cynicism is the air we breath, and it is suffocating our hearts.” That’s true on cable news shows, that’s true even in many church leadership meetings, and sadly, that’s often been true of my own heart. Paul Miller wrote it on page 82 of his book, A Praying Life, which I said I would read, so I am. I started a month or so ago and, even though I haven’t loved every turn, there are occasional, exceptional views that keep me from jumping out of the car.

In chapter 10, “Following Jesus out of Cynicism,” Miller opens a window to dispel the smoke of skepticism and suspicion in order to give our prayers fresh air.

Cynicism kills hope. The world of the cynic is fixed and immovable; the cynic believes we are swept along by forces greater than we are. Dreaming feels like so much foolishness. Risk becomes intolerable. Prayer feels pointless, as if we are talking to the wind. Why set ourselves and God up for failure? (85)

Negativity triggers like a safety mechanism of the flesh. But cynicism is not protective or effective, not in the supernatural life. “You don’t have to distance yourself with an ironic, critical stance” (83). The cynic withdraws from people who might possibly disappoint or hurt him (some day), but Solomon says that the man who isolates himself is selfish and rages against all sound wisdom (Proverbs 18:1). A shot of cynicism immunizes us from what makes us most healthy. Iron sharpens iron in contact. Hiding in the sheath all day makes our hearts dull.

Cynicism is not realism. Doubt redefined as wisdom doesn’t fly any higher than my house does after affixing wing stickers on the outside.

Cynicism looks reality in the face, calls it phony, and prides itself on its insight as it pulls back. Thanksgiving looks reality in the face and rejoices at God’s care. (90)

The cynic grumbles about all the bad; “Oh, the depravity!” His policy is to see the nightmare in every situation. But, according to God’s Word, God is still on the throne, God’s will is not thwarted, God is still working each and every thing for believers’ good and His glory. Not only does cynicism snuff out trust in God, it is also disobedient to the degree that it delays or distracts us from thanking God. The wise are thankful, not cynical. We must watch out for “bitterness, the stepchild of cynicism” (89), and spend more time with the daughters of gratitude.

With our pride well wounded halfway through the chapter, Miller then stabs deeper with C. S. Lewis’ finger. Lewis wrote in The Abolition of Man:

You cannot go on “explaining away” for ever: you will find that you have explained explanation itself away. You cannot go on “seeing through” things forever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it….If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To “see through” all things is not the same as not to see. (quoted in A Praying Life, 91)

“[Cynics] assume they are humble because they offer nothing. In fact, they feel deeply superior because they think they see through everything” (91). The Pharisees thought they saw best only because they were blind (cf. John 9:39-41).

Everyone fears something, and the object of fear separates wise men from fools. The cynic fears exposure of his own weaknesses, attacks from the small-minded, redirected or unsuccessful endeavors, all leading to loss of influence or esteem. That means he isn’t fearing the LORD, and that means cynicism isn’t wisdom (cf. Proverbs 1:7).

Maybe worst of all, cynics wear clothes from the hypocrite’s closet.

A significant source of cynicism is the fracture between my heart and my behavior. It goes something like this: My heart gets out of tune with God, but life goes on. So I continue to perform and say Christian things, but they are just words. I talk about Jesus without the presence of Jesus. There is a disconnect between what I present and who I am. My words sound phony, so other’s words sound phony too. In short, my empty religious performance leads me to think that everyone is phony. (91-92)

That’s a worldly wardrobe, and certainly no outfit for a pastor like myself. So, “While attempting to unmask evil, the cynic creates it” (93). Claiming to be wise, the cynic exchanges the glory of gospel power for the water pistol of pessimism. Cynicism keeps us from fear of the LORD, faith, joy, sacrifice, friendships, accountability, prayer, and love. That’s not smart.

Lord, help me to have serpent insight and dove innocence. Give me hopeful wisdom grounded in gospel promises and guard me from proud cynicism. Help me trust that You see what I see, that You see beyond what I see.

Categories
A Shot of Encouragement

The Criterion of Successful Churches

Indeed, the criterion of successful churches in the future is not how much Bible knowledge their people have, [or] how strong their pastor is in the pulpit….While content and pulpit expertise aren’t to be minimized, the biblical measure of success is whether they’re making disciples.

-Aubrey Malphurs, Planting Growing Churches For The 21st Century (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004), 30

Categories
Preach the Word

Ten Commandments for Preaching

Ten Commandments for Preaching in summary:

  1. Thou shalt not put words in God’s mouth.
  2. Thou shalt prepare and preach every message as though it were thy last.
  3. Thou shalt not present the Word of God in a boring and non-compelling manner.
  4. Thou always shalt point to Christ in thy message.
  5. Thou shalt edify thy hearers to faith and obedience.
  6. Thou shalt not be one kind of person and another kind of preacher.
  7. Thou shalt not open a commentary until thou hast read the passage 100 times.
  8. Honor thine context above all else, so that it may go well with thee in thy message.
  9. Thou shalt make the point of the text the point of the message.
  10. Thou shalt preach and teach doctrine above all else.

-By J. Tyler Scarlett, Pastor of Forest Baptist Church in Forest, Virginia

Each point is fleshed out in a paragraph here.

Categories
A Shot of Encouragement

Pure Religion

Religio munda et inmaculata apud Deum et Patrem haec est visitare pupillos et viduas in tribulatione eorum inmaculatum se custodire ab hoc saeculo.

James 1:27

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A Shot of Encouragement

Overcoming Objections

Nothing will ever be attempted, if all possible objections must be first overcome.

—Samuel Johnson, sound bites with caution

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A Shot of Encouragement

Theological Reasons for Wordiness

Regarding (tedious) repetition in Scripture, specifically in Numbers 7.

Efficiency is not always the highest value. Slow, long, repetitions are sometimes the best way to make an impact.

John Piper, Theological Reasons for Wordiness

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A Shot of Encouragement

The Tinker’s Ability

Could I posses the tinker’s ability for preaching, please your majesty, I would gladly relinquish all my learning.

—John Owen about John Bunyan, as quoted by Peter Toon, God’s Statesman: Life and Work of John Owen, 162

Categories
A Shot of Encouragement

A Head Regardless

Obedience and disobedience on the part of a husband does not make him a head or not a head. He is a head regardless, but he can be an obedient head or disobedient head. He can be a head who tells the truth about Christ in his sacrificial love, or he can be a head who lies about Him through selfishness, but silence is not an option.

~Doug Wilson, For a Glory and a Covering, 58

Categories
A Shot of Encouragement

The Oxygen of Church Politics

Hypocrisy is the oxygen of church politics.

—Rick Holland, 2010 Shepherds’ Conference message