Defeating Jadedness
I’m generally optimistic, but sometimes it can be easy to find myself drifting toward being jaded. I spend my days writing and editing articles about news and politics, and it’s easy to let the tendencies of both parties make you cynical.
I also think a certain amount of jadedness comes with age. I have a milestone birthday this year, and the older I get, the more I see my frustrations confirmed.
Jadedness is a human tendency. It’s part of our sin nature to be negative. Sometimes that can show up as anger, while other times that negativity can turn into despair.
Think about the prophet Elijah, who fell into a deep sense of being overwhelmed when Queen Jezebel went after him after he showed Israel that the Lord is God. Of course, God took care of him with food and a nap, which can solve a lot of issues.
Or sometimes it shows up as cynicism, complete with that “I’ve seen it all” attitude. The book of Ecclesiastes comes across that way to me, but also think about Nathanael and his “Can anything good come out of Nazareth” attitude when Philip wanted to introduce him to Jesus.
When I find myself struggling with jadedness, there are there are a few things that I do:
Repent — I have to confess my cynicism, despair, or anger. Psalm 41:4 is a good prayer of repentance: ““O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
Seek joy — When I’m feeling cynical or wallowing in any sort of negativity, I look for the joy in life. For me, that comes in reading God’s Word, praying, and connecting with other believers. As Jesus told His disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
There are two songs from a few years ago that help me avoid jadedness too.
When I was a much younger man, Charlie Peacock released this song, and as I’ve gotten older, it rings increasingly true for me.
And this song by Sara Groves reminds me that, no matter what circumstances I’ve seen — and I feel like I’ve seen almost all of it — God is there with His grace ready for me.
Photo by Amadeo Valar on Unsplash