Dictionary of Bible Themes  »  5000 Humanity  »  5760 Human attitudes and behaviour  »  5916 pessimism

A negative and hopeless attitude, resulting either from viewing the world as being without God or from loss of faith in God.

The world may appear to be meaningless

Ecclesiastes 1:14 See also Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Wisdom may be pointless

Ecclesiastes 1:17-18 See also Ecclesiastes 2:12-16

Pleasures may be empty

Ecclesiastes 2:1

Work may be in vain

Ecclesiastes 2:17 See also Ecclesiastes 2:18-23; Ecclesiastes 4:4

The world may seem corrupt and oppressive

Ecclesiastes 4:1 See also Ecclesiastes 4:2-3; Ecclesiastes 5:8-9

Loneliness can be depressing

Ecclesiastes 4:8

Wealth is no answer

Ecclesiastes 5:10 See also Ecclesiastes 5:11-15; Ecclesiastes 6:1-6; Luke 12:18-20

Life is short and often miserable

Ecclesiastes 6:12 In the OT, before the resurrection hope was fully developed, this life seemed to be all that there was. See also 1 Chronicles 29:15; Job 7:6; Job 14:7-12,18-22; Job 17:13-16

Suffering may lead to pessimism

Job 6:11 See also Job 30:26; Lamentations 3:16-18; Ezekiel 37:11

Suffering may cause a sense of God's rejection

Job 14:18-19 See also Job 19:5-13

The godless have no grounds for optimism

Ephesians 2:12 See also Job 8:13-15; Proverbs 10:24; Proverbs 11:7; Proverbs 24:19-20; Isaiah 19:3; Jeremiah 4:9; Matthew 7:26-27; 1 Thessalonians 4:13

Examples of pessimism

The Israelites on hearing about the strength of the Canaanites

Numbers 13:31-33; Deuteronomy 1:28

Israel's enemies

Deuteronomy 2:25; Joshua 2:9

Naomi on her return to Israel

Ruth 1:21

The Israelites threatened by the Philistines

1 Samuel 17:11; Samuel 13:6-7

Elijah at Mount Horeb

1 Kings 19:9-10

The men with leprosy at the gate of Samaria

2 Kings 7:4

Judah facing the threat from Aram and Israel

Isaiah 7:2

The Philistine cities on seeing Tyre's destruction

Zechariah 9:5

Thomas after the resurrection

John 20:24-25

Paul's shipboard companions during the storm

Acts 27:20

The antidote to pessimism is faith in God

Psalm 42:5; 2 Corinthians 4:13-16 See also Isaiah 41:10; Lamentations 3:21-24; 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

See also

5067  suicide
5569  hardship
5799  bitterness
5831  depression
5835  disappointment
5901  loneliness
5914  optimism
8027  faith, testing of
8713  discouragement
8754  fear
8834  unbelief
9614  hope, results of absence