It used to be said that two things in life are inevitable, death and taxes. It would appear we can add a third, political polls.
I’ll admit it, freely in fact, I’m a political junkie. Political news, political discussion, political anything are something I feed on. Lately however I’ve been feeling a lot like the dragons in Reign of Fire, the movie where dragons feed on the ash they have created.
I’m used to a healthy diet of political discourse throughout the year, with some genuine binging around election time. More and more however, the political discourse season seems to be a twelve month a year, every year event. It is getting tiresome.
The President’s poll numbers are up, or they are down, or they go both directions. It is really getting old.
Then it hit me. Stop reading about them. Stop watching the news that talks about them. Just stop.
So I did. There were some withdrawal symptoms. Some continuing desire to just “check in.” But it always came to end when I simply asked myself, “why?” Is there any benefit in it, this constant feeding upon whatever news the political scorekeepers post for me to read? Simply put, no.
In truth there never was much benefit in it. Even my claim to “keeping myself educated” could have been reasonably satisfied with much less consumption. So why did I do it in the first place?
For one, there is the very responsibility to stay informed. As citizens in a democracy we have the obligation to make informed choices. As followers of Christ we have an even greater obligation to exercise our rights and privileges as citizens in a manner that increases the opportunities for His Kingdom to grow, for the lost to come to Christ, and for the believing church to faithfully worship and serve our Savior.
As one fellow follower of Christs recently said however, “I feel overwhelmed.” It seems as if the news has become radioactive. So I’ve decided to set some parameters for myself. I’ve decided on a healthy news “diet.” I will ingest that which is genuine, whole, and nutritious.
I will consume that which is genuine. I want the truth. I want to know what has happened or is happening. Opinions, insight, and analysis are not news. At least not for this consumer.
I will consume that which is whole. I eat whole grain foods, so I will consume news that is whole. This is to say I will look for information that tells the whole story, without the careful editing of details. This is a challenge. Most sources we look to for information have their “perspective.” The best we can do here is to look for source that is willing to say things that don’t reflect their opinions or views.
I will consume that which is nutritious. There is a lot out there that I simply don’t need to take in. So much of the news we hear and see is the informational equivalent of sugary breakfast cereal, the kind we work to keep our children away from.
And I will be willing to hear what I don’t especially want to, as long as it fits the above requirements. Growing up I wasn’t a fan of Brussels sprouts, but my mother faithfully saw to it that I ate some. In time I learned to like Brussels sprouts. I never want to limit my intake of information to what I like. I want to know truthfully what is happening in my world.
I this a spiritual exercise? Yes it is. I need to understand the people to whom I minister. They need to know I listen. They need to know I care about their views. This, more than anything else, makes me want to know what is going on in our world. So I will watch the news and pray for our broken world full of broken people.
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