What do I mean by news of the week?

Well, maybe you’ve noticed these days that there’s a lot of crazy, sometimes confusing things in the news.

Though I suppose we could always say that.

Even so, I want to dare suggest that the situation has gotten worse. We are seeing the deterioration of any moral and ethical standards increasing at an alarming speed.

Everything from the ever-expanding LGBTQ+ acronym to escalating conflict and violence to various unethical or questionable government shenanigans fills our newsfeeds.

Not only that, but the tone of our news and the larger cultural conversation has changed. Widespread political and social polarization has led many, especially those on various media platforms, to have nothing but animosity towards those who hold different views.

What do we make of all these things as followers of Jesus? How do we navigate what we see on the news and in the media?

Good questions.

Because here’s the thing: if we simply watch the news and absorb social media without discernment, without reflection, without wisdom, then we’ll simply be unknowingly discipled into ways of seeing the world that run contrary to a sound, biblical worldview.

It certainly begins with realizing that there are no longer any unbiased news sources. Every media platform has a point of view, an editorial slant, by which stories are framed.

What we take in affects our hearts and minds. We are always being formed, often when we’re unaware. Becoming intentionally thoughtful about our news and media consumption is a way of guarding our hearts and minds against anxiety and anger and confusion.

20th century theologian Karl Barth wrote these words many years ago: “Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.”

I’m going to attempt to do some of this.

So once a week (on Fridays) I want to highlight a current issue or news story and offer a brief reflection. I’ll upload the first one next Friday.

I may even highlight encouraging, hopeful stories—good news!—as well as the stuff that we need to figure out how to see from a Christian perspective.

We live in a broken world. We live in a beautiful world. There’s lots going on all around us that both showcases human depravity and human possibility. Learning to see the news through a Christian lens is part of what it means to follow Jesus and be his witnesses in this world—the world which was made through him and for which he died to redeem.