Optimism is not the Same as Hope

Are you a “glass half-full” person rather than a “glass half-empty?” Are you a member of “the sunny-side-of-the-street” club? That’s great. But as good as optimism is, it’s not hope.

Optimism may have to do with a personality type. Some people, by makeup, are more optimistic. Or, optimism may have more to do with environment. You may have learned optimism (or pessimism) from your parents. With some learned skills, a person can probably train themselves to become more optimistic, or less. 

Optimism has benefits. Of course there are benefits for you. Who wants to be always down, expecting the worst, negative about the possibilities? Optimism may rub off on others. Your optimism may inspire others to try things they would not have otherwise. That’s good. But it’s not hope.

Optimism’s benefits are limited to life lived in this present world. If this world in its present form is heading for an ugly end, the reality of that end will not be mitigated by your rosy view of things. If the boat is sinking, optimism will not make it float.

Hope, on the other hand, is a personal attachment to a promise. Granted, the hope is only as reliable as the promise, and so there can be false hopes, in that there are empty promises. But when our hope is personally attached to the promises of God, “who cannot lie,” then we have a rock on which to stand, in contrast to either a bright and positive spirit, or a mere silly, sappy optimism.

Biblical hope is the conviction born of promise that God will ultimately be glorified. He will be glorified in the vindication and exaltation of Jesus Christ, who is coming again to be forever united with His body, peoples from all nations, from across the generations, who have placed their faith in the only Faithful One. Biblical hope confidently expects a new heavens and new earth, in which only righteousness dwells. Biblical hope looks forward to a society in which there is love without end; joy without diminishment. Biblical hope fuels an enduring faith and a self-giving love, because we have so much to look forward to, and the evidence for this new world is already apparent in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the presence of His Spirit in churches and believers in this present age.

Now, can a person be both full of hope and also optimistic? Of course. What would be more surprising would be a Christian who is pessimistic. But actually, what is most appropriate is the person who is hopeful, and realistic - who realizes that we live in a bent, sin-sick world, but that this is not all there is, and we hope for something better.