Myopic News Coverage

Today, on the day after a bombing/shooting in a mosque in Egypt took over 300 lives, I made an informal review of the coverage priorities of the major cable news TV channels (those leaning both left and right), such as CNN, Fox, and MSNBC.  Today they decided it was important to focus the nation's attention on domestic political spats and holiday shopping stories and stats.  One wonders:  What does it take on the world scene to get the attention of small-minded, profit-driven American news media?

Losing Focus?

Is the rush of breaking news and counter-claims and 24/7-commentary tempting Christians to lose their focus on the Gospel?  And what's more, is our way of handling the current-events-mania causing unnecessary divisions within the church?  Erik Raymond has a very helpful warning along these lines:  "Keep Your Eye on the Ball."

Taking stock at summer's end

As we venture into September, here are some of this past summer’s headlines: health care reform, Ted Kennedy, Taliban, Farrah Fawcett, Afghanistan elections, suicide bombings, Swine Flu, Cash for Clunkers, District 9, cool-then-steamy weather, President Obama, Pedro Martinez, Michael Vick, Michael Jackson, release of Lockerbie bomber, American Idol, unemploy­ment, California bankrupt, Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, Tour de France, Lyme Disease, Gaddafi, Susan Boyle, Tiger Woods, Transformers, Caster Semenya, Roger Federer, L. A. wildfires, Harry Potter…

My guess is that for many of us these things have been on our minds, grabbing our attention. And amidst the flurry of all such things current-immediate-relevant-newsworthy, I’d also guess that many of us have been seeking to keep God’s Word and our hope in Christ vividly before us. But it’s a battle. The battle is to keep from thinking that all those flashy headlines really matter in the end, and to guard and feed our affections for Jesus Christ.

The Enemy works hard to undermine your faith in at least two ways: by frontal assault to destroy belief in the Lord, or by a round-about attack that makes stars and trends and sports and fashion and self-image and all kinds of fleeting things appear so meaningful that Christ seems kind of like a distant shadow, like something beige. If you pour your heart’s passion into temporal pleasures (i.e., ones that don’t center on God or last eternally), you’ll ruin any appetite for ultimate joy in the Lord.

Here at the end of the summer 2009, what is it you long for? What’s your passion? What moves you? Despite all the “stuff” clamoring for your attention, I urge you to turn your mind and heart to Christ, to spend time (alone, and with loved ones) focusing on the wonder of the Lord through his Word, and to fan the flames of our sure hope in the future return of Jesus. After all, remember that he’s coming back precisely for those who eagerly await his appearing! “Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Heb 9:28). Look to Christ!

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