When the News Has You Down, Trust the Word

In our media-drenched world, news travels instantly. We can watch events while they happen, anywhere on the planet. In the process, it has become harder to discern fact from fiction and opinion from information. People (with all kinds of motives) have learned how to manipulate information to make it seem accurate.

Concerned about these trends, a respected media analyst recently warned how easily emails from friends can seem like “real news stories.” How frequently such information is “casually passed along and consumed as facts.” Even news organizations have been guilty of distributing rumors as fact and altering photographs to deceive.

How different this seems from the world of King David, when news had to be carried by messenger from place to place. In his day, many techniques were developed to evaluate news. They could speculate about the identity of runners and observe their technique. If runners were recognized, this could be a sign about the news that they brought. If a runner traveled alone, this meant one thing. If they were running fast, it might mean something else.

Today, just as in David’s time, only God knows the real story-the whole truth. We need to realize that the opinions of men are flawed, and that much of the “news” is slanted and twisted by bias and prejudice.

Don’t be deceived or base your life on rumors or gossip. Don’t trust the flimsy sources that influence the media. Instead, stand on the unchanging Word of God. Fill your mind with His Word. Seek Him for discernment and wisdom. Depend upon Him!