“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I, too, may be consoled by news of you. I have no one so like myself who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”

Philippians 2:19-21

“All of them are seeking their own interests….” Well, my goodness! It certainly sounds like the Apostle Paul is being a cynic, doesn’t it? In his letter to the church at Philippi, he told them that he was sending Timothy to them. And so he drew a sharp contrast between Timothy, who was genuinely concerned for their welfare, against others, who sought their own interests.

This is not the first time Paul has addressed this topic. Back in verse 4, he wrote: “Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.” Apparently Paul was keenly aware of the “snake oil salesmen” of his day, those smooth talkers who lead you to believe they have your best interest at heart while they are exploiting you for their personal gain.

And so, at first glance, it would appear that Paul was a cynic. This, of course, led me to explore the differences between being cynical and being skeptical.

The Cambridge Dictionary (online) defines cynical as “not trusting or respecting the goodness of other people and their actions, but believing that people are interested only in themselves.” The same dictionary defines skeptical as “doubting that something is true or useful.”

I thought this test from Linkedin.com was helpful:

Are you a skeptic or a cynic? Test yourself: Skeptics are positive, open-minded, challenge the negative factors, and can change their minds; cynics are negative, close-minded, obsessed with negatives, and “stuck.” It’s a lot easier to be a cynic; it takes work and critical thinking to be a good skeptic (thus the phrase, “healthy skepticism.”)

Healthy skepticism is a good thing. Cynicism, on the other hand, will lead one to become “stuck.”

I do not believe Paul was a cynic. Yes, he was frustrated with those around him who were disingenuous. He had no place for those who exploited others for selfish gain. So what kept him from sliding down the slippery slope of cynicism? What kept him from becoming close-minded and obsessed with negatives?

“All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” Paul constantly sought the interest of Jesus Christ. Paul’s hope was in Christ. That made the difference in his life. It’s a reason he was able to rejoice–even while in prison. It’s a reason that he kept in touch with and was so concerned for the churches he had started. It kept him from getting stuck. It didn’t mean that he wasn’t skeptical. But his hope in Christ kept him from traveling the path of cynicism and defeat. His hope in Christ kept the interests of others at the top of his list.

Friends, there is much in our world that tempts us to slide into cynicism. And if we are not careful, we will go there. We will become obsessed with negatives. But when we remember to focus on Christ, we will find over and over that He leads us to be genuinely concerned with the welfare of others. And that will keep us from getting stuck, as well.