FOX, CNN … I’ll Take GOD!

By David Ettinger

Too Much News
I know quite a few people who spend hours watching their favorite TV news channel. Even when they’re not actually watching the tube, it’s blaring in the background as they go about their chores.

Now, remember, I’m a former journalist of just under 20 years and made my livelihood from the news. But as a Bible-believing Christian, I know there is more to life than the news. Indeed, man does not live on news alone (see Deuteronomy 8:3).

Wasted Time
Of course I’m not against watching the news. Though I got rid of my cable TV almost 13 years ago, I still check the headlines online. It’s important to keep up with what’s going on. But really, isn’t all the endless analysis and commentary appended to the news just plain overkill? Is it really important that you absorb the plethora of opinions behind the headlines?

Is it really going to change the way you think, believe, and will eventually vote? More likely, the incessant stream of news and commentary will only rile you up and cause you to think the most ungodly of thoughts. For the believer, I find this a true waste of time when compared to what you should be doing.

Time with God
Ever since I came to faith in Jesus Christ in 1986, I have devoted large chunks of time to daily Bible reading. I make it a point to read through the entire Bible twice a year. I find this time with God to be the best investment of this precious commodity I can possibly make.

And when I’m not reading the Bible, I’m reading commentaries or other Christian/Bible-related materials which will help me grow. Spending time in God’s Word – and other resources based on God’s Word – gives me all the insight, wisdom, and knowledge I need to navigate my way in this world. One rarely leaves Bible-reading/studying sessions without being the better for it.

Not So FOX, CNN
The same, however, cannot be said about hours spent watching news channels. Sure, there is some worldly knowledge that can be gained, but, ultimately, such knowledge will be fit solely for the grave when you go there.

Time with God, however – especially that spent in His Word – is not only insightful and invigorating, but exhilarating. Being in God’s Word is to be in God’s world – a world I’d much rather live in than this current decaying one.

To this end, one verse in particular which grows more special to me is Psalm 84:10: “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

O to Enter God’s Courts!
In this life, there are no Temple courts to enter in which we can physically draw closer to God. In eternity, those courts will be real, and they will be glorious! But believers in the Lord Jesus can enter His spiritual courts, and we can do so through prayer, meditation, and the joyful consumption of His Word.

I’m perplexed by believers who are obsessed with the politics of this world when God’s world lies literally at our fingertips. You want news? By all means get it. But once the 10 minutes of main headlines pass, turn off the TV and crack open your Bible – and stay there a while!

Hours indulging in FOX and CNN are destructive to the believer – an asphyxiation of world doctrine and humanistic thought. On the other hand, hours invested in God’s Word is to taste of the living waters of life eternal – an infusion of His Spirit and goodness.

Let the world squander hours away on FOX and CNN; I’ll gladly spend them at my Savior’s feet!

Tagged: Christian Ethics, christian living, Christian Responsibility, Loving God, Read Your Bible, Too Much TV!, Turn off the TV

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