News is an opportunity to see God’s world through God’s Word

An article in The New York Times caught my eye recently: “How Times Reporters Talk to Their Kids About the News.” The Times doesn’t produce news specifically for students as WORLD does, but many of its reporters are parents and grandparents. They wrestle with many of the same questions we do: How should children learn about war, crime, politics, school shootings, and other difficult realities?

Before I go on, yes—I read and listen to The New York Times, along with several other news organizations. That’s simply part of my professional responsibility. The breadth of their reporting is remarkable. A billion-dollar content budget gives you options.

I agreed with almost everything the reporters said. They emphasized honesty. They believed children should hear the news from trustworthy adults rather than from friends or social media. They described difficult realities in language appropriate to a child’s age. They don’t pretend evil doesn’t exist, nor do they think every disturbing detail needs to be shared. We affirm all those principles.

The reporters generally assume that the primary purpose of journalism is to help people understand and navigate the world. They’re right—as far as that goes. But Christians must ask one more question before all the others: Whose world are we trying to understand?

At WORLD, we believe reporting serves higher purposes. We often say that our journalism for students is a discipleship tool. We don’t want students just to know the facts of what happened today. We want them to understand the world as God’s world. News is not merely information to be downloaded—it is an opportunity to grow in wisdom.

That conviction begins with our belief that God has revealed Himself in two ways: through His Word and through His world. The world around us—its beauty and brokenness alike—is God’s world, and therefore worthy of careful attention. But it is through Scripture, God’s special revelation, that we learn how to understand what we see and respond to it faithfully.

So when a war breaks out, students certainly should understand where it is happening and why, but we also want them to recognize the dignity of every person involved, the reality of sin, the call to pray for those who suffer, and the confidence that history unfolds under God’s sovereign care.

When we report on scientific discoveries, technological advances, remarkable people, and the natural world, our goal is not simply to satisfy curiosity. We hope to cultivate wonder at God’s creation and gratitude for His common grace.

When we report on politics, we want students to understand public life without imagining that politics is the center of everything. Governments are ordained by God and deserve careful attention.

This vision also shapes the conversations many of us have with our children and grandchildren. We hope those conversations help them grow in wisdom as they learn to see God’s world through God’s Word.

The Times reporters are trying to prepare their children for the world they will inherit. We admire that instinct, and we share much of it. We simply believe preparation for the world involves more than understanding current events. It means learning to see reality as God sees it. That is why we care so deeply about both the facts of today’s news and the truth of Scripture. One tells us what happened; the other helps us understand what it means.

That is what we hope our reporting does—not only for students, but for all of us. God has not given us a billion-dollar newsroom, but He has given us the resources to do the work He has called us to do. We hope our journalism helps us understand God’s world more truthfully so that we can live more faithfully in it.