THE SIN OF PESSIMISM

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“They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."
“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

“That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
Numbers 13:26-33, 14:1-4

Pessimism: 1: an inclination to emphasize adverse aspects, conditions, and possibilities or to expect the worst possible outcome2 a: the doctrine that reality is essentially evil b: the doctrine that evil overbalances happiness in life. (from Merriam/Webster Dictionary)

I remember back in my younger days watching a cartoon called The Adventures of Gulliver. In the show, Gulliver had several Lilliputian sidekicks who would help him through the different trials they encountered. Many of these trials were dangerous and placed Gulliver and his miniature friends in danger. It was during those times when it looked like the worst was to come that the character of Glum moved to the forefront. For no matter how optimistic everyone else tried to be, there was Glum saying things like “We’re doomed. We’re never going to get out of here.” Or “Oh no! We’re all going to die.” The character never saw any bright side to anything, only gloom and hopelessness.

Well in our scripture for today, we see a biblical example of Glum in some of the men who returned from their scouting assignment in Canaan. You’ll recall the men were gone for forty days to check out the land that God had promised Israel after which time they were to return and make report.

The men return with great news initially while showing everyone the “fruit of the land” and sharing that the land did “flow with milk and honey” just as God had said it would. Their words had to encourage and buoy the spirits of the people of Israel who had journeyed so long and endured so much to get to this point and place. But things did not stay good for long. For pessimism was about to creep in to ruin the party and extinguish the flames of hope.

Have you ever had this happen to you? Have you ever been feeling really good about life only to have someone with a negative attitude just bring you down? I know I have…so many times that I have developed a general distaste for pessimistic people…those who can’t seem to see any good coming out of any circumstance…those who always want to see the bad in every situation…those who consistently see the glass half empty all the time. And too often than not, these pessimistic people can get everyone else believing their way to where an entire group of people begin to believe that there isn’t a chance that things can and will work out in whatever the matter is.

Back to our scriptures. Just after the good things are mentioned about Canaan we get a classic turn in attitude…all prompted by that word “but”. The land is flowing with milk and honey…but…and the pessimism begins. Sort of like someone saying, “They’re a nice person but…” and then the person begins to discredit the person they just said something nice about. Ever hear someone do that? I do all the time.

So what came after the “but”? Well, the men said, “…the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." In other words, the land is not only flowing with milk and honey but swarming with people who we have no chance of defeating…people who would just as well kill us then hand their land to us.
We get a sense that this sent a buzz among the people because they began to get afraid, frustrated and angry at the picture painted by the men…a picture that took away all the hope they had felt just moments earlier about the land that God Himself promised. And remember He also promised that He would be with them…a point obviously forgotten by most of the men who had returned from Canaan.
One man not convinced that defeat was certain was Caleb. He was the voice of reason trying to overturn the pessimistic rhetoric that had turned the people’s light into darkness as he “silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.’ God had sent them to Canaan and promised them the land. Caleb believed that God would make good on His promises, no matter the obstacle. After all, the people in Canaan were people just like the Israelites. What chance would they have against God?
The pessimistic men quickly countered Caleb…such was the evil nature of the sinful pessimism that was in their hearts and minds. Whereas Caleb was trying to encourage the people to trust in God to deliver them into Canaan just as He had delivered them out of Egypt, the men were trying to convince the people to give up and turn back from what would surely be a foolish venture to go to Canaan and die at the hands of those currently inhabiting it. Spreading “a bad report about the land”, the men said, “"We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are….the land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." The damage was done.

Because we next read where the people begin to give into fear and anxiety, raising their voices and weeping aloud while grumbling against Moses and Aaron. Scripture tells us “the whole assembly said, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

Can you hear God thinking to Himself, “Oh ye of little faith”? For truly Israel had lost theirs. Satan had entered in and brought with him a doctrine of evil that overbalanced the happiness in life for God’s people. They had witnessed first-hand the awesome, almighty power of their Lord so many times, seeing the miraculous works of His hand. And yet, they now cowered in fear and resignation when faced with the prospect of encountering adversity and peril. In fact, they were so disoriented in their thinking that they began to believe that they were actually better when they were being held in bondage by the Egyptians. Friends, this is where negative thinking takes you…to a place where you fail to believe that God is able to enter in and alter difficult circumstances to make things work out for the good...exactly the place that Satan wants you to be.

Paul spoke words from the Lord in Philippians that should be our counter to any feelings of pessimism that might try to influence us. My prayer is that we use these the next time when we begin to feel like there is no hope left for us or others. Paul wrote:

“…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

In other words, think positively and do so because God is good. He’s all powerful, all knowing, and all capable to do anything He wants to do, including fulfilling what He has promised. We need only to keep the faith and persevere while waiting for His intervention and revealed glory. And as we wait, we do so in confidence and strength, not of our own but of Jesus. For Paul also wrote, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 These are words of light and love and hope…things we will always have to the overflow when we fully place our trust in the One who is the Maker and Creator of all things. Thanks be to God. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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