"For I myself am an optimist. It doesn't seem to be of much use to be anything else," Winston Churchill.- Economic prosperity unimaginable to someone living in 1800: air conditioning; heating; dishwashers; ovens; televisions; computers; cars; airplanes; the Internet, etc...
- Life expectancy of around 80 years versus 35 years.
- Less than 1% of infants dying in childbirth versus 30% of infants dying in childbirth.
- Freedom. No slavery. No religious witch hunts. The ability to practice a mulititude of faiths and beliefs without fear of death or imprisonment.
- The ability to travel safely from California to New York without fear of death by disease or lawlessness. For that matter, the ability to travel almost anywhere in the world without huge risk to life.
The list could be pages long. We have a huge case of ungratefulness and excessive complaining disease in this country. I am hopeful that the national mood will change. I believe that the future strength of our nation depends on it.
Christians should be living by example with a foundation of optimism and hope. I have three reasons why I believe an optimistic outlook is called for:
1. The future is extremely bright.
From a biblical perspective, we are called to be optimistic. God has revealed some things about our eternal home- Heaven. We can point to a multitude of verses on this issue, but perhaps none as powerful as Revelation 21:3-4:
"Now the dwelling of God is with men and He will live with them. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
The hope of a resurrected, perfected body in a resurrected, perfected earth is our hope. This hope is an anchor to the waves of trials that toss us around and attempt to make our minds and focus unstable.
I am optimistic about life because I am optimistic about God. Am I optimistic about human nature? No. But a quick view of history shows an amazing story of God working through time and human stewardship to bring about incredible progress. Every period of history had its share of potential problems that were going to derail the planet and doom civilization. And yet God has restrained evil and promoted good to give us a partial glimpse of eternity where evil will be non-existent and good will be natural.
For this reason, I am optimistic about the future. God will do some great redemptive works through humans. His common grace causes the sun to shine on the righteous and unrighteous. We often look at the future and all we see are problems. But the future always holds difficulties mixed with opportunity. It is our job to focus on the opportunities and how we can participate with God in redeeming creation.
2. I believe there will be significant reform in energy, education and health care and these reforms will usher in a new era of economic prosperity.
There is an old saying in economics: "there is no better cure for high prices than high prices." People always have a tendency to think that prices that have risen in the past are going to continue rising at a similar rate. But then innovation occurs. Scale happens. Prices fall. The personal computer and mobile phone are two examples.
We have some bright minds in America. The economic incentives are in place. I expect mind-boggling innovation in the areas of energy, education and health care. The potential for greater efficiency at lower prices in all three industries is huge. These three industries have the potential to revolutionize the US economy for the better.
Of course, all three industries could be screwed up worse than they already are through excessive government intervention and waste. But history is on my side here. The world is moving towards greater personal responsibility and freedom. It will be hard for a society to go against that trend and remain competitive long-term.
3. Optimism attracts opportunities
I am not talking about self-help silliness here. The book of Proverbs is full of this truth. "Without vision, people perish"- Prov 29:18. "As a man thinks in his heart, so he is"- Prov 23:7. A friend of mine- Gary Randle- says, "God takes care of the birds of the air. But they don't sit around on wires with their mouths open. They go looking for worms."
We should always maintain an optimistic view of God's ability to provide for our needs no matter how dark the situation looks. God often works His greatest miracles in our lives at our times of greatest despair and weakness.
I watched a movie a few weeks back called "The Mist". It was a Stephen King film. I don't recommend the movie. It is a depressing film. Basically, an army experiment goes bad and infests a town with human sized insects that kill anyone in their path. One group holds out for a long time in a grocery store and then makes a daring escape in a car to drive out of the mist. They run out of gas.
The situation looks so dismal and bleak that they agree to have the main character kill everyone in the car rather than being eaten by these insects. He has enough bullets to kill everyone but himself. After he kills his friends and young son, he walks out of the car to meet his grisly fate. But then the cruel irony sets in. He is rescued within minutes. If only, he hadn't given up. If he would have persevered to the end...
I think the lesson is good there. Never, ever, ever, ever give up. Persevere even when odds look dismal. God is with us. Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" We should be overflowing with hope, faith and optimism.
As always I preach to myself first.
For His Glory,
Ashley Hodge
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