In the months before and after my surgery, I have had many medical appointments and, consequently, did a lot of waiting in doctors’ offices. I generally take a book or magazine with me in such cases, but I found myself being drawn more toward the television sets. Generally, the sets are tuned into one of the many news channels which dispense bad news and doom & gloom on a 24 hour basis. Sitting there among other folks, each with their own malady, I was struck by the irony of it. Those waiting to see a doctor usually have enough on their minds to bring them down without being fed a steady diet of bad news, the vast majority of which they can’t do anything about even if they wanted.
Maybe it seemed so poignant to me because around four or five years ago, we scaled back our cable TV to the very basic package. We get the networks and a few other channels, but we no longer get the news channels (CNN, Headline News, Fox, MSNBC). And I don’t miss them a bit. Who needs constant reporting of every bad thing happening in the world (or that might happen)? At first, I did miss the Weather Channel. I was a WC junkie. I knew all the people on it by name. But even that got depressing after a while—“It may be sunny today, but, oh no, there is a major storm system coming and it may be here by early next year!”
I remain informed about the important news through my internet homepage and occasionally the radio. But I no longer feel compelled to sit and watch the news reporters blow something all out of proportion to entice viewers to stay tuned in. And I believe this has greatly improved my general mental health and sense of well being. Not that we should bury our heads in the sand and be ignorant of our world. But I believe that there is a strong correlation between what we read, watch, and listen to and our state of mind.
Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8&9:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things . . . and the God of peace will be with you.”
I was reading that according to a recent study by the World Health Organization and Harvard Medical School, America may very well be the saddest nation in the world. Researchers found that 9.6 percent of Americans suffer from depression or bipolar disorder—the highest among 14 major nations polled. Those nations that scored better than the U.S. suffer from ongoing wars and rumors of war (Lebanon), vast unemployment (Mexico), and profound poverty (Nigeria). In his Wall Street Journal article, “The Great Depression,” Bret Stephens argues that perhaps America scores poorly as a nation because its population is generally comfortable and wealthy. Such luxuries allow that much more time for critically picking apart life situations and personal circumstances. Those who live in countries torn apart by varying social and economic issues have less time to fret over personal gain and ambition. They are simply too busy trying to survive. The research shows that the citizens of the world’s happier nations find a steady source of joy in their families, their religion, and their traditions.
Could it also be that those in the other places mentioned don’t have the time or luxury to sit around and watch 24 hour coverage of the latest wildfire, mortgage woes, market downturn, hurricane, flood, or other bit of bad news? There is no doubt that times are not good in comparison with the recent past. But we have to choose which filter we will process information through. It’s easy to process news and information . . . and life! . . . through the filter of doom and gloom and woe is me.
As Christians we should filter it all through the Word of God. So to counter the alarmist, pessimistic sound bites from the talking heads, chew on these bites from God’s Word in Romans 8:
“The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace . . .For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear . . . we are God’s children . . . we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory . . .I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us . . . in this hope we are saved . . . the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us . . . we know that In all things God works for the good of those who love him . . . if God is for us, who can be against us? . . . Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?. . . in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us . . . nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.”
Chris Higgins 