Optimism - Wise or Unwise?

Since I watched England win both the Rugby World Cup Quarter- and Semi-finals, I began to feel confident that England would defeat South Africa in today's Cup Final. But unlike with the previous two matches, Ascot Life Church didn't open its doors for the final to be watched. This was because of the sanctuary, for want of a more appropriate word, was already booked for its regular monthly meet for our children, which meets between 10.00 and 12 noon.

Ascot Life Centre - Watched rugby here.

I believe this was the right decision made by our Elders. Who, for a moment, would ever think that the England rugby team would make it to the final? Yet we all knew that for a whole week England will be facing South Africa at rugby's most important international contest, yet just by shifting the kid's meeting later by a couple of hours would have created enough of a time slot for us to watch the game together as a Christian community. After all, where we meet each Sunday in a restaurant at the racecourse, nearly every week the chairs are re-arranged and the music equipment is set up, including the two large screens, by a team of dedicated and committed members. Surely, rearranging the sanctuary after the game has ended would have been minor by comparison.

Then there is the other side of the story. The weather this morning was appalling. This meant that after a four-mile cycle ride to the church, I would have been drenched. Even with a proper raincoat, my thighs would have had to endure the discomfort of wet tracksuit leggings. Then to add to this, watching the opposing team's score starting to climb ahead of our team's score would have meant a heavy atmosphere in the room, broken only when England scored a penalty. At least the game ended with England having 12 points, which is a damn sight better than nil! Quite a contrast with South Africa's 32 points, which put an end of any optimistic hopes for our side's victory.

As already mentioned in my last blogs, watching sport is a distraction from the daily mundane. During the 2012 London Olympics, I purposely took time off work to watch the men's Triathlon. It was so thrilling to watch, especially when the event was won by a Brit, who took gold, and his brother taking bronze, with a Spaniard taking silver in second place between the two brothers.

Reminiscences from the days when I competed in Triathlons myself between the years 1985-1992. Nowadays I can only enjoy the sport vicariously. But such reflected my sense of cautious optimism that I would complete the assigned course - especially during the cycling leg of the race where a flat is an ultimate nightmare for any rising or serious competitor, after glancing at a fellow participant suffering a blowout halfway through the course, and with another rider at another event, her chain becoming entangled among the rear cogs during a gear shift. To assist her while in distress would have resulted in her immediate disqualification. Such were the rules governing Triathlon events.

Cautious optimism. If I had been totally pessimistic, my fear of punctures would have kept me from competing altogether, let alone going for long-distance burn-ups, or for cycling holidays. But in life, I had come to learn that there is a difference between cautious optimism, and one which leads to arrogance, that cocksure attitude that nothing can ever go wrong. And if it did, I would be really screwed.

Therefore, I always kept my bicycle in good condition, renewing the tyres and inner tube at the first sign of wear, ditto with the chain and gear cassette. And before each event, ensuring that both tyres were inflated to full pressure, and a repair outfit, pump, and appropriate tools were fastened on the bike throughout the race. Such precautions have given me enough optimism to compete, yet remaining realistic that all could come to nothing. All it takes is a tiny shard of glass lying invisibly on the road.

It doesn't seem to be the same optimism which was shown by many England fans who booked a last-minute flight to Tokyo from London. After beating New Zealand on the previous week, fans who had grave doubts about whether England would ever reach the finals were splashing hundreds, maybe thousands of pounds for flights, accommodation and most important of all, entry tickets into the stadium. Therefore I can imagine such optimism beginning to crush while watching the opposing team gaining points and lifting the much-prized trophy, while so I read, the England team actually refusing to wear their silver medals. Runners up, after their fans spending so much money, with no hope of refunds.

But it's my opinion that by reaching the final, England did remarkably well. And that, after beating the All Blacks, perhaps one of the world's best rugby side, into third-place play against Wales. Therefore, there is much to be praised. As such, for the eager fan who was cautiously optimistic that England could well beat South Africa, he saw it as a gamble, and a gamble indeed, to spend thousands for a last-minute trip around the globe with only a 50% chance of returning home a winner. I believe that such an individual, had his team lost, would return home disappointed but not crushed or screwed up, feeling out of pocket but not entirely broken.

Swim, Cycle, Run - the classic Triathlon.

However, there is one area I can be truly optimistic, and that's in the veracity of the Bible.

And I write this among a growing sense of pessimism over the future of our planet. Ever since BBC presenter David Attenborough had presented his Blue Planet II back in 2017, there has been this fanatical awareness of plastic waste, especially of discarded carrier bags finding their way into the oceans. Added to this is the rate in which the polar ice is melting with the threat of the sea level rising, leading to one of the main topics for discussion, climate change affecting our weather patterns. Not to mention the desecration of the rainforest, especially in the Amazon area of South America, due to those greedy capitalists whose sole interest is to make a profit from turning rainforest into temporary farmlands which would eventually transform such a beautiful environment into a wasteland. And not to mention the treat of extinction of many species who have made the rainforest their home.

And when it comes to current affairs, the fearmongers constantly ranting on how Brexit will desecrate both the superstore and the pharmacist alike. With both of us dependent on medicine, this does not bode well for optimism. Likewise, there is a fear that the NHS will be sold off to some private American investor, or simply watch as this great institution goes to pieces as foreign doctors, nurses and other staff return to their home countries while patient demand exceeds supply.

Pessimists paint a gloomy picture of our planet's future. And by rights, I'm not much of an optimist myself when it comes to current affairs affecting the British political worldview.

But as already mentioned, the Bible does lend a hand in feeling a degree of optimism. And here I'm not just referring to personal salvation. Rather, it's the covenant God made with Abraham and the people of Israel.

Jeremiah, also known as "the weeping prophet" - deeply upset in watching his beloved city of Jerusalem being desecrated by the Babylonian forces led by King Nebuchadnezzar, here he was given one of the greatest assurances by God himself. This assurance applies not only to Israel but to all of us.

God promises the prophet that if he, that is Jeremiah himself as a mere man, he can break the covenant God has made with the Earth, so day no longer follows night, and that night no longer follows day at its appointed time, only then will God will cast Israel away forever, and King David will not have an heir to sit upon his throne. He then repeats his promise:

This is what the Lord says,

If I haven't established my covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.

Jeremiah 33:25-26.

Just a little earlier, God made this assurance to the distressed prophet:

This is what the Lord says:

He who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night,

who stirs up the sea so that he waves roar -

the Lord Almighty is his name:

Only if these decrees vanish from my sight, declares the Lord,

will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me.

This is what the Lord says:

Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundation of the earth can be searched out,

will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of what they have done,

declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 32:35-37.

Here I can be optimistic! Not on whether England would win the rugby or any other World Cup tournament, and certainly not over Brexit! Instead, we read about Jeremiah weeping as he sees his beloved city razed to the ground by a mighty foreign army. He weeps as he watches the destruction of the Temple, the one place in all the earth where a man can make an atonement with his God by animal sacrifice, temporary as this atonement may be, it's still a wonderful display of God's mercy. Now the Temple is no more. There is nowhere else to make atonement. No wonder the prophet wrote a book entirely on his lamentations. Yet even within his mourning, he recites,

Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself,

The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait on him.

Lamentations 3:22-24.

As I go about my business, such as sitting at a Starbucks or Costa coffee bar and watch families sitting at a table, I see children in all their abundance. It is a temptation to ponder on how will these children grow up happily in a post-Brexit Britain. Yet our own Prime Minister is very optimistic for our future, as with all Tory-supporting journalists. Daily Mail reporters, as with those from the Daily Express and The Sun newspapers, among others, all support Brexit and all giving a rosy future for Britain. They are the ones who are criticising the BBC for it's more cautious standing on Brexit and being accused as an organisation consisting mostly of Remainers.

But Jeremiah would have had none of it, and neither should I.

The prophet says that God himself is his portion. That is what I want to believe, to trust in him. Indeed, there are some Christians who are wholly committed to leaving the European Union. There is one or two holding this political view who tend to look on me with a level of contempt, despite how friendly they may appear when I greet them. Then again, my good friend Dr Andrew Milnthorpe who also voted to leave the EU - remains very close to me. 

But if Jeremiah may have felt lonely, and I'm sure there were times when he felt very lonely, yet his faith in God remained steadfast. Even to the point of thanking God in all things, one being his mercy renewed every morning. Like with Job, Jeremiah too is a good yardstick I can set as a target to aim for through faith in Jesus Christ and being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. 

Likewise, I would encourage every believer not to look to Brexit or a World cup victory for England, but to God, whose mercies are new every morning.