The product of the news business is change, not wisdom. Wisdom has to do with seeing things in their largest context, whereas news is structured in a way that destroys the larger context. You have to do certain things to information if you want to sell it on a daily basis. You have to make each day's report seem important. And you do that by reducing the importance of its context.
Carter's conclusion is striking:
As a Christian, I'm expected to take an eternal perspective, viewing events not only in their historical context but also in their eschatological context. But I can't do that if my attention is focused on the churning detritus of the twenty-four hour news cycle, since events that are truly important are rarely those captured on the front page of a daily paper.
As Malcolm Muggeridge admitted, "I've often thought that if I'd been a journalist in the Holy Land at the time of our Lord's ministry, I should have spent my time looking into what was happening in Herod's court. I'd be wanting to sign Salome for her exclusive memoirs, and finding out what Pilate was up to, and—I would have missed completely the most important event there ever was."
Indeed, imagine if CNN were reporting on events in first century Palestine: ". . . three revolutionaries were crucified on Golgatha today. Included among the executions was a man called Jesus, who some Jews considered to be the messiah. Those hopes were dashed, however, around three P.M. when Roman soldiers declared Jesus dead. And now, this . . ."
I agree with the points made and they are a necessary antidote to the prevailing usage of media. But I probably see a bit more importance and value than Carter seems to on making it our business to stay on top of what is happening, even if much of the information we glean has no long-term value.
The Scriptures give us the framework but not the specific details of the divine plan. The Biblical story of Joseph is instructive here. There was no way of knowing the significance of various events as they happened. Yet, with hindsight and knowing the whole story, we know that many events that would have been at best local and minor news played a significant part in the overall providential plan. The fact that every hair on my head is numbered by God speaks to the fact that the seemingly trivial things of life have importance too.
That doesn't mean we are able to connect the dots and always make the connections between the events of time and the plans of eternity. In fact, as was made painfully obvious this week by Pat Robertson who spoke as if he could, we make fools of ourselves and the gospel when we attempt to speak with certainty in intrepreting the events of our time with God's reasons for judgement or grace.
When it comes to intrepreting how current events fit into the longer term plan, the advice Jesus gave in response to the catastrophes of his day remains current.) Like the men of Issachar in I Chronicles 12, we ought to know and understand our own times in order that we might know what to do.
Staying aware of the ordinary things that make the news (or as with this week's devastation in Haiti, the not-so-ordinary things) is I think an obligation that all of us have. Getting beyond the punditry of the press and seeking to place these matters in a context of biblical wisdom is also an essential responsibility. Most will not argue with either of these propositions. However, when we make the linkage between the two, we need to do so with humility and care.
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