Cynics

Cynics have it easy.  They only difficulty is coming up with even more ways to cash doubt, nurture fear, or sow uncertainty.  Given the chaos Life brings us on a normal day, this is not a terribly challenging task!  Almost anyone can and often does take on the role.  You simply insert a jab there, prick a vulnerable part here, or strike someone, something, or somewhere defenseless.  If it does not work the first time, never give up.  Something is bound to strike home sometime.
 
From my vantage point, cynics are societal leeches that should be under a death order.  Candidly, I do not think the attitude has any right to exist, even when they are right.  It is not personal.  There are far too many opportunities for every individual to contribute to potential solutions to life’s problems.  Far too many people continue to starve in a world with excess food.  Far too many people struggle to defend themselves against those who exploit, dominate, or overwhelm.  Far too many people have lost sight of Hope.  It does not take an individual with a high intellect to know this.  Anyone with a compassionate awareness can see the evil that exists around our lives.  The challenge only lies in how we respond.
 
As I struggle to see daylight, I find myself longing to experience the Spirit of Hope.  I know it is here.  I can almost feel it, even as the cynic tries to block my view.  Candidly, I know a cynic’s “insults and mockeries are moth-eaten, from brains that are termite-ridden, but my [God] setting-things-right lasts, my salvation goes on and on and on.”  (Isaiah 51.8)  I understand this, but I want to feel God in my life to know it is real.
 
You and I can find good news in the following fact statements.  God understands our needs.  God is acting to fulfill our wish/need even as we struggle to understand it.  We may live in a world of cynics, but they never have the final say.  God has the last word.  It is always Hope.