Spiritual Disciplines and News Stories, Part One
The common expression “can't live with it and can't live without it” often describes the Christians' relationship with the news, whether print or electronic. That should not be surprising. We are both “strangers and exiles” here, awaiting the return of our “Lord and Savior Jesus” (Hebrews 11:13, Philippians 3:20) and called to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-14), seeking the good of our communities while we are here (Jeremiah 29:7). That dynamic applies to how we should relate to news and the news media (“the fourth estate”).
We need to be informed about what is happening so that we can plan wisely for our families and our churches. Further, many work in industries that require keeping up to date. How should we interact with reports from the news media? Reflecting on how Christians relate to the news, let us survey three common options to arrive at a better fourth option. Then, we can develop six ideas for responding to the news in godlier ways: two ideas in this post and four in the next post.
Option 1 – Consume Uncritically!
Some believers seem to leave their faith behind when they watch or read the news. They have not learned to interpret the news using a Christian worldview. Unconsciously, they read the news without thinking of underlying issues and how their faith should inform their reaction. James M. Hamilton Jr. diagnoses this problem and points to the biblical prescription for fixing it:
We need to be able to look at the world, filter it through the whole Bible, and then describe the world that we have seen the way the Bible describes it. This is what it means to have a Biblical worldview. Too many Christians have a Hollywood worldview, or a Madison Avenue worldview, or a state-education system worldview. If that’s your worldview, or if you don’t recognize the difference between the worldview generated by the Bible and the worldview embraced by Washington, D.C., you need to spend more time reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Bible.1
For some, consuming the news has even become a form of entertainment instead of information to analyze, pray about, and act upon. That is more disturbing than being subtly swayed by it! It flows through them without seemingly touching their hearts. If you consume the news uncritically, it will shape you over time (Psalm 1:1). Instead, you should be consuming something much better, God’s words, pondering them, and then applying them to the news. That is the blessed life (verse 2)!
Option 2 – Disturbed Consumption!
Other believers know they have a problem. News stories make them nervous or angry, but they still keep watching or reading. You hear them grumping about the negative news or making resolutions to consume less. But like the friend who is always trying to diet but never succeeding a week passes, and they are right back at it, letting the news capture their attention and stir them up in unproductive ways. Their problem is not that the news bothers them but that they do not reflect on those reactions spiritually, turning them into prayers and actions.
Terrible news should grieve us! The Bible is full of examples of news triggering godly mourning that stirs up prayer. Often, God then uses the concerned saint to change things. Think of Nehemiah, who, hearing about the terrible situation in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:3), reported, “As soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven” (verse 4). Strong emotional reactions to news should lead us to pray! However, disturbed consumption often leads to wrathful anger or sinful anxiety (Matthew 6:25-34), in addition to wasted time. Would that the believers you knew spent as much time with God devotionally as they spend absorbing the news! That sounds like a revival!
Option 3 – Intentionally Uninformed!
Being uninformed about the news is a better option than unconscious consumption that fails to sigh, weep, or rejoice. And to get out of the information loop is better than being worried about the breaking news flash! But surely Christians with exclusive access to true and transcendent wisdom should be prepared to engage in conversations with others. Tragic news can provide a springboard for a Gospel call to repentance, just as Jesus did so shrewdly (Luke 13:1-3). Do you not need a fourth option for news intake, allowing you to engage in a godlier manner while protecting your time and your heart? I am still working out the details and practice of this option 4 in my own life. May we all become as “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
Option 4 – Devotionally Discerning!
While the traditional Evangelical idea of a “quiet time” is helpful, there is a danger of sequestering Bible reflection and prayer into one “time” of your day. You rise to read and pray, and then you read or watch the news. Those two activities could be so separate in your mind that the thoughts from your devotional life and your media consumption never meet! Or worse, you check out the news first before you commune with the Lord, having then to fight against the distracted thoughts stirred up in your head. Instead, here are six ways to maintain the need to stay informed in more holistic, holy ways.
Idea 1: Pray for Receiving the News
If this article has struck a spiritual nerve, then add to your regular prayer list this request: “Father, when I see and hear the news, help me to interpret it as you do, to feel your feelings after you, and to respond in any appropriate ways.” How greatly it would honor God if we asked him more to see the world as he sees it. With this type of prayer, you can move toward your destiny of being conformed to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).
Idea 2: Pray from Receiving the News
From what you hear, see, and read, add people and events to your weekly private prayer list. You should already pray for leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Who else should you pray for? Do you need to pray for the family experiencing that tragedy in the sensational news report? You could pray for their spiritual condition, for the Christians around them, and that God will ultimately be glorified through that situation.
Or do you need to pray for a cultural or government leader who is clearly an enemy of the faith, spouting off godless words or promoting ungodly policies? What if you put their name on your private prayer list and prayed for them for a week? The emphasis is on your “private” prayer lists. Sometimes, when prayer requests about current events are shared in a church setting, it distracts from the prayer meeting or sparks sensational talk in the Bible study. Pray to God in secret for what has upset your heart. This truly honors your Father, who sees in secret (Matthew 6:6). God will reward you for praying in faith and will relieve your heart, even if it does not appear that anything has changed in the person or about the event.
Praying for evil people in the news is not praying for vengeance on them but for God to graciously save them as he saved you! Jesus taught us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). How much more should we pray for those who are not persecuting us but are separated from God by their sins and need salvation we enjoy? It will take humility to pray for blessings for "bad" people. Echoing John Bradford's famous words, Martyn-Lloyd Jones wrote, "You . . . should rather say to yourself, whenever you see someone falling, ‘There, but for the grace of God, go I.’"2
We will unpack four more ideas about healthier and holier media consumption in the next post, but what are some productive and godly ways that you have learned to read, hear, or see the news in distinctively Christian ways?
Here is a helpful, related article:
"5 Things to Remember When You Consume the News" by Ryan Sanders
1James M. Hamilton Jr., Revelation - The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 134. Preaching the Word Series.
2David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Christian Warfare: An Exposition of Ephesians 6:10–13 (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1976), 337.
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