A cynic is someone who, when given a silver platter, sees only tarnish. His perspective is skewed because he’s already made up his mind about how to look at life, and, unfortunately, some of the most cynical people can be Christians.<\/p>\n
Christians should be the most optimistic people in the world! I’m not talking Pollyanna happy, but simply having a more positive outlook. Consider frustration as an invitation to think more clearly and act more definitely. After all, if we don’t show the world a hopeful outlook, who will?<\/p>\n
“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary<\/em>” (Galatians 1:9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A cynic is someone who, when given a silver platter, sees only tarnish. His perspective is skewed because he’s already made up his mind about how to look at life, and, unfortunately, some of the most cynical people can be Christians. Christians should be the most optimistic people in the world! I’m not talking Pollyanna…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1813,1703],"class_list":["post-87647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-optimism","tag-pessimism"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29878,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-remember\/","url_meta":{"origin":87647,"position":0},"title":"Do You Remember?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Floyd Chappelear Sentry Magazine, December 2002 Here is a quiz for you: Name the five wealthiest people in the world. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize. Name\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90150,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gutter-mouth\/","url_meta":{"origin":87647,"position":1},"title":"Gutter Mouth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jonnie Hutchison Where I grew up in Missouri, a person whose language included various curse words would be called a \"gutter mouth.\" Cursing, at least in public, was frowned upon by most people back then. It was characteristic of the undesirable and the rebellious in society. Today it is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/dirty-gutter-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9922,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wasnt-judas-problem-betrayal-and-not-suicide\/","url_meta":{"origin":87647,"position":2},"title":"Wasn’t Judas’ problem betrayal and not suicide?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I don't think Judas' suicide was the great issue. The main issue was the betrayal of Jesus. Jesus even said the disciples that it would have been better than the one that betrays the Son of Man not have been born. It just seems Judas will be judged for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31577,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-christians-celebrate-christmas-at-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":87647,"position":3},"title":"Should Christians celebrate Christmas at all?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, Thanks for taking up the time to answer all our questions. Forgive me if my English doesn't seem correct since it isn't my first language, but should we Christians even celebrate Christmas at all? Jeremiah 10:1-5 states: \"Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63243,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-i-believe-we-should-still-marry-and-bring-children-into-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":87647,"position":4},"title":"Why I Believe We Should Still Marry and Bring Children into the World","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Is having children too risky? Seeing that the majority will end up lost, I have seen a number of faithful Christians lose their children to the world. Answer: That is a pretty defeatist way of viewing things. When was it not risky? I've seen people, who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85473,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/send-those-grudges-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":87647,"position":5},"title":"Send Those Grudges Away","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by L. 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