Feeling Cynical?

A sign by the cash register in a small-town grocery store warns, "In God we trust. Everybody else has to pay cash."

Trust is in short supply these days. The local bank may have the word trust in its name, but you still have to fill out your withdrawal slips with a pen chained to the counter. As Shakespeare put it, "Love all, trust a few." Sometimes I'm a skeptic myself, especially when I read advertisements in the newspaper. Will that high-priced mattress really give me the best night's sleep I've ever had? No, I'll be wide awake regretting how much I paid for it! Will that miracle weight-loss program really make me lose 20 pounds in my sleep? Only if I sleep-walk five miles a night!

Actually, some healthy skepticism is part of genuine faith. Theologian E. J. Carnell said, "A life of faith is a life of wisdom. Foolishness either believes when it should doubt (the cultic mind), or it doubts when it should believe (hardness of heart)." Jesus doesn't call us to be gullible. "Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves," he told his apostles (Matthew 10:16). "Test everything. Hold on to the good," wrote the apostle Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:21). "Do not believe every spirit," warned John, "but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

It's wise to keep your guard up against self-serving politicians more interested in re-election than in serving their constituents, preachers who care more about building their own kingdom than the kingdom of God, salespeople who will say anything to separate you from your money, and fake friends who use you but don't love you. Proverbs 20:6 rings true: "Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?"

If we follow false teachers, we will be misled. If we believe false doctrine, we will be deceived. If we accept "hollow and deceptive philosophy," we will be enslaved (Colossians 2:8). If we lean too hard on human leaders, we will be disappointed. "Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save" (Psalm 146:3).

However, we must not allow cynicism to swallow up our souls. Faith is our spiritual lifeline. "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God" (Psalm 20:7). A healthy nation is built on trust. Henry Clay said, "Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people." Strong marriages require high levels of trust. In healthy churches, people trust their leaders. In healthy friendships, confidential matters can be discussed without fear.

Feeling cynical? Don't be so guarded that you quit trusting the Lord. Don't be suspicious of others who deserve your confidence. Be trustworthy yourself. Then "guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you" and entrust it to "reliable men" who will pass God's truth along (2 Timothy 1:14, 2:2).