This week we began examining the fourth enemy to our spiritual health: cynicism. We are defining cynicism as a posture of skepticism that leads us to doubt God’s presence and activity in our lives. We hope these additional resources will be helpful as you fight cynicism in your life.
Video: Are You Cynical About Prayer? by Paul Miller
In this quick two-minute video, Paul Miller (author of A Praying Life) explains how an undercurrent of cynicism in our culture negatively affects our prayer lives.
Book: A Praying Life by Paul Miller
In his book, Miller goes in heavily on cynicism as a hindrance to our prayer lives. He has a lot of insight into how we identify cynicism and overcome it through trusting Jesus.
Article: Putting Off Cynicism by Paul Maxwell
This article defines cynicism and looks at some of its biggest hidden dangers. Maxwell identifies the five components of cynicism (including its connection to apathy) and then offers five things that Christ provides to help the cynic.
Book: Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves
During this portion of the series, we will be covering how the Holy Spirit battles our cynicism by continually pointing us to trust and put our hope in Jesus. This book provides a wonderfully compelling vision of God as Trinity and how He works in our lives. Reeves calls us out of our cynicism and invites us to delight in God and in knowing Him.
Article: Warm Yourself at the Fires of Meditation by David Mathis
David Mathis makes the case for how meditating on God and His Word is a central means of grace and healing in the Christian life.
Sermon Series: “Crisis of Faith”
If in the midst of your cynicism you find yourself wrestling with tough questions and doubts, we recommend checking out this sermon series by Midtown. This series takes a look at six questions or issues that hinder people from following or trusting Jesus. For more resources on these topics, check out the blogs posted for this series here.
Article: The Sin in Our Cynicism by Jonathan Parnell
This piece looks at the sinful roots that often lie underneath our cynical attitudes towards God and others. Parnell argues that cynicism is a problem, and more than that, it is sin. He challenges readers to fight cynicism by beginning to see things as they are—as God has told us they are in His Word.