by Rich DuBose
There was a time when, for me, hearing the latest news headlines was like cocaine to a drug addict. I craved to know what was happening in the world and would tune into the news at the top of every hour.
Thankfully I’ve gotten the victory over that. I still care about what’s happening, but hearing it is no longer the high it used to be. My focus has shifted to something of far greater significance than what the news has to say. Now, if I hear the news it’s usually deflating and frustrating. It’s just more talk about crime, politicians behaving poorly, natural disasters, flaming injustice, war, and death. Most of what gets reported in the daily news can be classified as “click bait.” It grabs our attention but gives us nothing of substance. There is no nourishment in what the world has to say. I’ve learned to value Paul’s counsel to the Philippians when he said,
“Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9, NLT).
Selective Focus
Lest I come across as not caring about people or the tragedies and injustices that occur 24/7, it is because I care that I no longer try to ingest large amounts of world news. I’ve learned that it’s useless to try and quench my thirst with a firehose of information I can do very little about.
If I let it, the blow-by-blow recounting of our democracy’s demise, of Putin’s despicable acts, and of Washington’s reprehensible plans will so ruin me that I’ll forget that one person can make enough of a difference (even though it may be on a small scale) to throw the devil into a tizzy.
H. M. S Richard’s Sr. used to say, “Care about your work. Do not flinch because the lion roars; do not stop to stone the devils dogs; do not fool away your time chasing the devils rabbits. Do your work. Let liars lie, let sectarians quarrel, let corporations resolve, let editors publish, let the devil do his worst; but see to it that nothing hinders you from fulfilling the work that God has given you.”
Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Powerful politicians, oligarchs, and savvy media influencers may think they’re in charge. Some have plans for nations and the world that threaten us all. But what they fail to remember is that God ultimately has our destinies in his hand. Knowing this defuses a lot of the hype and hand-wringing thrown at us by the media. When we pay attention, God shows us everything we need to know.
There was a time in Israel’s past when God assured them they would not be left alone to face an uncertain future. And this assurance still applies to his followers today.
“Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come” (Jeremiah 33:3, NLT).
This is what I need to hear. God, what are you trying to tell me about myself and about those around me? I don’t want to be so distracted by the noise of today’s media that I miss hearing what you have to say about the future you've prepared for those who choose to live your way.
Rich DuBose writes from Northern California. Photograph by Jakub Zerdzicki, with Pexels
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the New Living Translation (NLT), copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.