Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for.
04122 – What is Hope?
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03494 – Church: Worth the Effort
I still love the church. I love the church universal, as well as the church local (red brick, white-columned with deacons smoking in the parking lot). With all of its dysfunction and flesh marks, with all of its confusion and humanity, it is still the best thing God...
03485 – Nothing to be Grateful For? Keep Looking!
And if you don't think you have anything to be grateful for, keep looking. Because you don't just receive optimism. You can't wait for things to be great and then be grateful for that. You've got to behave in a way that promotes that.
02405 – Our Mission: At the Gates of Hope
Our mission is to plant ourselves at the gates of Hope — not the prudent gates of Optimism, which are somewhat narrower; nor the stalwart, boring gates of Common Sense; nor the strident gates of Self-Righteousness, which creak on shrill and angry hinges (people cannot...
02166 – What Hope is, is Not
Hope is never calibrated to the fervor of optimism or the distress of pessimism. Hope is fixed to a larger horizon and rooted in an expansive memory. Hope cannot be auctioned off to the highest bidder; cannot be put up for collateral; cannot be traded on the big board...
01747 – The Opposite of Despair is Hope
If God doesn't give up on us, we had better not despair of ourselves. We can always do better--especially if we remember the opposite of despair is not optimism but hope. Hope criticizes what is, hopelessness rationalizes it. Hope resists, hopelessness adapts. But...
00525 – Opportunity vs. Difficulty
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
00132 – Making Good Trouble
Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way.