Optimism and Our Faith

by David Rollert

We live in a very negative and pessimistic society. Doom and gloom permeate every aspect of culture. Unfortunately, that pessimism has also permeated the church. Many Christians will only look at the negatives of any given situation. They see how hard it is to resist sin, so they despair of ever being able to overcome their bad habits. They see how difficult evangelism is, so they start to think that the church can never grow. They see how widespread false doctrine is, so they give up on trying to teach sound doctrine.

Interestingly, pessimists will try to tell you that they are realists, insisting that they see the truth of matters and have the appropriate response. However, I would argue that the Bible and Christianity are inherently optimistic and realist, and that the Biblical way to view these situations is in an optimistic light. Let’s see what the Bible says.

Let’s look at the Christ-like attitude we should have about people in general. We are commanded to be people who love those around us. In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul tells us that we must do everything with love. He then defines what love is in verses 4-8. Focus in on what he says in verses 6-7; “[love] does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” This is a statement of optimism! Love bears up under trials and difficulties because it sees the hope of better things to come. “Love believes all things” is not a command to believe in falsehood or be gullible. But love believes the best of people and situations. Love believes that God can bring about a good result. Love hopes all things because it is looking to the betterment of those around us and trusts God to turn every situation to His glory. Christians are supposed to be loving, and love is optimistic!

We also see an optimistic attitude demonstrated about evangelism. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus commands that His followers to go and teach people about Him and make disciples. Jesus is not going to give us an impossible task. The pessimist might say, “Few will listen anyway, so why even try?” But Jesus did not have that attitude. He went about teaching the good news. If anyone had a right to be pessimistic, it would be Jesus. The people of his own hometown tried to kill him when he taught in the synagogue (Luke 4:16-30). He was constantly opposed by the religious leaders of His day. He was even eventually killed. Yet He still loves the lost and commanded that they be taught.

In fact, even trials can be seen in a positive light. James 1:2-4 tells us to consider it joy when we face trials, because those trials bring about endurance. This is an inherently positive viewpoint on difficult situations.

As Christians let’s intentionally foster a positive “can-do” attitude!