Have you heard the news today? It is easier than ever in our digital age to keep up with what is going on in the world. Usually if you listen for 15 minutes you have the general picture…the next several hours will just discuss it in 100 different ways.

While it is good that news can travel fast in our world, there are also some inherent dangers in it. The same news that can fill your mind with information and ideas can also drain your soul. After listening to local and world news I often feel “sapped” of strength instead of renewed. Why is that?

The Danger Of Time

You can be so connected with the news and opinions of men that you fail to stay connected to the mind of Christ. We must never allow news to substitute for time meditating in the unchanging good news of God’s Word. The 24-hour news cycle does not lend itself to a healthy soul. There must be times of quiet. The spirit needs solitude with God, separate from the noise of this world.

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). Refuse to spend all of your time listening to prognosticators and speculators. Give your best time to the Voice that always tells the truth. Time with Him is never a waste.

The Danger Of Spirit

Conservative news does not mean Christian news. God’s people must guard anything that would affect their spirit. For example, a man can get so consumed with political agendas that he ignores spiritual realities. I have found myself getting angry and fleshly as I listen to people debate and argue, and the Holy Spirit has had to remind me that, “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). 

Yes, we need to be informed. Yes, we need to know the issues. Yes, we need to take a stand. I am not advocating a “head in the sand” attitude toward the world around us. But we must never allow the news, however conservative, whoever the commentator, to set the course for our spirit.

News can feed fear instead of faith. God’s people sometimes begin to speak like unbelievers, wringing their hands and bemoaning the condition of the world. Look to the Lord for your answers and your hope! Refuse to always talk about the bad around you and speak about the goodness of God.

We have what the world does not have and what the world cannot take away. The life of the believer is not wrapped up in what governments, individuals, or financial markets may do. Christ is our life and we must never forget Him (Colossians 3:4).

Guard your time. Guard your heart. And give the best moments of your day to the Lord.