I confess. I don’t watch a lot of news. In fact, I don’t watch any news. I used to. I’ve never been one for national news. But Beth & I used to watch the local news. Every night. But then our routine changed. And it’s not like there’s much good on the news. A crime here. A tragedy there. More controversies that a person can even keep track of. Besides, I get to see the headlines everyday when I log on to my home page. So I feel like I am pretty up-to-date with what’s happening in the world.
If I were going to watch a national news program it certainly would be FOX News. Out of all the networks I think they present a much less biased and liberal view. Now this does not mean that FOX News is conservative. But they are much more conservative than the network news programs. I did watch FOX News fairly extensively during the Iraqi invasion. I trusted them to be fairly unbiased in their reporting. I liked Shephard Smith and thought that he did a good job of covering the war.
In a world devoid of options, many Christians have gravitated to FOX News as the news channel of choice. Like me, they like FOX’s less-liberal-biased reporting. And their willingness to present the conservative view on matters. After all, FOX News purports itself to be fair and balanced. As a result, FOX News has been adopted by many Christians as the only news channel to be watched. The same way that the Republican Party has become the only political party for Christians. In the process, commentators such as Bill O’Reilly, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh have become revered as courageous people who stand up to the liberals. They tell it like it is. They put the liberals in their place. They throw their arguments back in their face. I admit that part of me enjoys this, too. It is so gratifying to see the same tactics that the liberals are using, used against them. Fight fire with fire. See how you like it!
But while I appreciate FOX News as being the best that we have to choose from, I am going to stop short of anointing it as the spokesperson for my faith. First of all, I don’t know if many of the commentators are Christians. This means that while they can give clever and insightful responses to many of our country’s problems, they don’t do so from a Biblical perspective. For example, when was the last time that a commentator actually said that Jesus was the answer to a problem? When was the last time that a commentator stated that the proper way to respond to hate was with love? I understand why they don’t. It’s because they don’t know Jesus in the first place. So how could they possibly promote Christian-based values and strategies?
Secondly, the tactics that the commentators use to defend their beliefs are not Christian. The Bible has many verses that talk about ‘speaking the truth in love’, not letting ‘any unwholesome word’ come from our lips, about making sure that our conversation is ‘always full of grace, seasoned with salt’. The fact is that when you start making fun of your opponents, attack them, call them names, and belittle them, you are stooping down to their level. But hey, it attracts viewers. And isn’t that what really matters? However, as a Christian, I would never speak to someone, or about someone else, in this way. Nor would I expect any other Christian to speak to someone else in this way.
And this is precisely the point. Is any of our haranguing about the left changing them? Is it transforming their hearts and minds? No. It is simply causing them to dig in that much more. The strategy to use is love. Sure, state the facts. Present the logical argument. Stand up for the truth. But do it with grace and love. That’s what Jesus would do.
So while FOX News is the best available source for reliable, unbiased news on the networks, we need to remember that, at its heart, it still is humanistic. And humanistic solutions, while they sound good, will never work. At least not in the long term. So let’s not buy into them. Only godly solutions will work. And one day, when Jesus appears back on this planet, those godly solutions are going to be implemented. Peace will reign. Righteousness will be the norm. And this world will be exactly the way God created it to be. The way that we long for it to be. Now that will be news indeed!
Lord, help me to remember that the way to counter hate, deception and evil is with love, truth and righteousness. Help me to be able to sincerely pray for my enemies. For those who are actively seeking to destroy this country. For those who are opposing Your kingdom in the process. May You bring the light of Your presence into their lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If I were going to watch a national news program it certainly would be FOX News. Out of all the networks I think they present a much less biased and liberal view. Now this does not mean that FOX News is conservative. But they are much more conservative than the network news programs. I did watch FOX News fairly extensively during the Iraqi invasion. I trusted them to be fairly unbiased in their reporting. I liked Shephard Smith and thought that he did a good job of covering the war.
In a world devoid of options, many Christians have gravitated to FOX News as the news channel of choice. Like me, they like FOX’s less-liberal-biased reporting. And their willingness to present the conservative view on matters. After all, FOX News purports itself to be fair and balanced. As a result, FOX News has been adopted by many Christians as the only news channel to be watched. The same way that the Republican Party has become the only political party for Christians. In the process, commentators such as Bill O’Reilly, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh have become revered as courageous people who stand up to the liberals. They tell it like it is. They put the liberals in their place. They throw their arguments back in their face. I admit that part of me enjoys this, too. It is so gratifying to see the same tactics that the liberals are using, used against them. Fight fire with fire. See how you like it!
But while I appreciate FOX News as being the best that we have to choose from, I am going to stop short of anointing it as the spokesperson for my faith. First of all, I don’t know if many of the commentators are Christians. This means that while they can give clever and insightful responses to many of our country’s problems, they don’t do so from a Biblical perspective. For example, when was the last time that a commentator actually said that Jesus was the answer to a problem? When was the last time that a commentator stated that the proper way to respond to hate was with love? I understand why they don’t. It’s because they don’t know Jesus in the first place. So how could they possibly promote Christian-based values and strategies?
Secondly, the tactics that the commentators use to defend their beliefs are not Christian. The Bible has many verses that talk about ‘speaking the truth in love’, not letting ‘any unwholesome word’ come from our lips, about making sure that our conversation is ‘always full of grace, seasoned with salt’. The fact is that when you start making fun of your opponents, attack them, call them names, and belittle them, you are stooping down to their level. But hey, it attracts viewers. And isn’t that what really matters? However, as a Christian, I would never speak to someone, or about someone else, in this way. Nor would I expect any other Christian to speak to someone else in this way.
And this is precisely the point. Is any of our haranguing about the left changing them? Is it transforming their hearts and minds? No. It is simply causing them to dig in that much more. The strategy to use is love. Sure, state the facts. Present the logical argument. Stand up for the truth. But do it with grace and love. That’s what Jesus would do.
So while FOX News is the best available source for reliable, unbiased news on the networks, we need to remember that, at its heart, it still is humanistic. And humanistic solutions, while they sound good, will never work. At least not in the long term. So let’s not buy into them. Only godly solutions will work. And one day, when Jesus appears back on this planet, those godly solutions are going to be implemented. Peace will reign. Righteousness will be the norm. And this world will be exactly the way God created it to be. The way that we long for it to be. Now that will be news indeed!
Lord, help me to remember that the way to counter hate, deception and evil is with love, truth and righteousness. Help me to be able to sincerely pray for my enemies. For those who are actively seeking to destroy this country. For those who are opposing Your kingdom in the process. May You bring the light of Your presence into their lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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