News ≠ Entertainment

Happy Sunday,

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.”

James 5:16

Has the news become your entertainment?
If I’m honest, this was what got me addicted to the news.

I may have downloaded the apps thinking I would be a more informed or engaged citizen and Christian, but I stuck around because the news became my favorite TV show. It had complex characters, drama, comedy, action, and I never knew exactly when the next episode would drop… so I just kept checking.

The problem is that, of course, the news isn’t a TV show. When layoffs happen, people actually lose their jobs. When a judge’s gavel drops, the sentence is actually served. When a war breaks out, real people die.

My heart should have responded differently to the real versions of these things… but it (often) didn’t. 

It was easy for me to view things, especially politics, with the same kind of detached intrigue I feel watching a TV show. (“Ooo, I wonder how they’ll handle this one?!”) When it came to both entertainment and the news, I was a spectator—reading headlines with no intention of taking any action. 

I needed to get involved. And the best first step for me was prayer.

Praying fervently for God to intercede and help real, specific people with their real, specific problems made the news real. It changed my heart and posture towards the news.

Listen… I was as worried as anyone about Jim and Pam in season 9, but I never prayed for them. That inaction is the correct response when watching The Office, but it’s wrong when watching the news.

This week, I challenge you to read the news for the specific purpose of finding real people to pray for. 

What do you think?
Jason

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