Ask the Editor - Don’t ignore the news

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, August 6th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. Up next: Ask the Editor. Today, Editor-in-Chief Marvin Olasky offers a few suggestions on why it’s important to follow the news.

MARVIN OLASKY, EDITOR IN CHIEF: Here’s an email: “The news is so beastly I feel like screaming. Sometimes I think I should ignore all the headlines. Why not?”

Good question. I have four thoughts. First, the Bible teaches that when man turns away from God, he acts like a beast. When we ignore the news of beastliness, we may be drawn to a romantic view of the world. It may seem wholesome, but it deadens us to the understanding of man’s sinfulness that is essential to Christianity. If man without God is not beastly, then Christ’s sacrifice for us was unnecessary. So, the news provides daily evidence of the truth of Christianity.

Second, five minutes of headline news is good, five hours is probably not – unless you’re called to be a journalist. Psalm 131 says, “I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. I have stilled and quieted my soul.” A little bad news trains us to pay attention but not become obsessed with the details of incidents over which we have no control. It teaches us to worship a God who keeps an infinite number of balls in the air. Most of us can handle just one or two. It pushes us to take action on things not too great, when we can have some influence.

Third, the news invites us to act at times in one Godlike way: laugh. Psalm 2 begins by asking, “Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain.” The psalm then notes, “He who sits in the heavens laughs.” Sometimes we should do the same. When we hear that it’s now politically correct to say “pregnant persons” rather than “pregnant women,” it’s time to laugh. Sooner or later our media leaders will realize how stupid this sounds. Some of them will laugh in embarrassment. We should be the first on our block to laugh.

Fourth, the news reminds us to pray. It reminds us of what Psalm 73 teaches: “You guide me with your counsel. You will bring me to glory.” News from afar helps us to see how everyone desperately needs Christ. It spurs us to pray for others. It makes us thankful for biblical objectivity, with its clear direction on crucial matters. It reminds us that we don’t know how to solve many problems, so we need to pray for God’s guidance and be thankful that this world is not our final resting place. God has promised us much more.

I’m Marvin Olasky.

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