Christ Leads The Way

Have you ever gone to sleep at night while watching a movie and then dreamed about what was on or some version of what you were hearing play during your sleep? I’ve done that before. It’s the worst when it’s a horror movie playing when you go to bed or, similarly, the news – which I think is immeasurably worse. I’d rather go to bed and have the most frightening movie playing while I sleep than to have the nightmarish news anchors’ reports playing in the background.

I have a strong aversion to the media. It literally makes me sick. Seriously. Whenever I’ve fallen asleep before I’ve had the chance to shut out the TV nightly news and its minions, I’ve had poor sleep and woken up with terrible headaches. It affects my ability to feel well and to function the next day at work. I wouldn’t recommend the news, to anyone as something to watch, before going to bed.

I say turn the TV off completely. Or, just get rid of it. There’s nothing but negative reporting and bad things on the news, anyway. Somebody burglarized a home; somebody carried out violence against an unsuspecting person; somebody was injured; somebody is complicit in it; somebody is illegally doing whatever they want to do to carry out what they falsely claim to be their job; oh, and, by the way…a hurricane is coming. It’s depressing.

I don’t want to hear any of that while I’m awake, let alone before I go to sleep or unconsciously while I’m sleeping. I’ve never cared for the news to boot. The news media is a multi-billion dollar industry that disguises itself as a means to inform the general public. But, it’s true purpose is all about money and power. The main goal of the press is to control the people. They present whatever information they want in whatever package they want to get whatever the specific response is from the people that they want.

What they report and how they report it depends on what their agenda is for the day and what will get them the most ratings. And if their concerted efforts at swaying the people to carry out their plans is thwarted, they will spare no cost to demolish whatever they consider to be the cause for their failure. Surely, you have seen their hate campaigns set out to bring people down.

Notice how one teenager could die and they present his death to the public as being his fault because of his lifestyle – displaying pictures to try and depict him as living life on the edge or as a criminal who was bound to run into trouble, and unjustly seeking to malign his character in his passing. They can take a similar death and shape it in a way as to rouse the public’s sympathy and open up a dialogue about suicide or senseless violence in our nation, while honoring that person in their death. It’s all about what they want to portray to the public, what reaction they want to produce, and who they consider to be worthy of their respect or one of them.

You’ve, more than likely, seen the news reports where they choose the most inappropriately dressed and unintelligibly speaking person to interview. It’s as if they want to purposely humiliate people. I’m sure you’ve also seen the reports of some wrongdoing that a public official committed while in office – not against the public, but against himself, against his family, and against God. But they make sure to nip it in the bud and, practically, harass those people.

I wonder if they ever stop to think about the challenges that those families are already facing because of the wrongdoing, without it being broadcast to the entire audience of TV watchers. I also wonder if they stop to think about the accidents, kidnappings, or deaths that they report on television and in paper – if they consider what those people and their family members will have to endure, with the additional stress of the press making it public knowledge. I don’t wonder long, though, because I’m convinced that they simply do not care.

The media preys on those that they view as most vulnerable, as weak, as poor, and as uneducated. They flex their muscles and show their power by exploiting others for their own personal gain – not thinking of the negative impact that they make on the lives of fellow human beings. We saw in the recent newspaper office slayings the unfortunate effects that bad and inconsiderate reporting can produce. The perpetrator was in no way justified in his actions. He was wrong to commit such an hateful act. But imagine, if a little more compassion had been shown in reporting, what would’ve been different.

And people don’t even realize that the media really just wants to control their thinking, and as a result, their actions. They are blind leaders of the blind that will both fall into the ditch. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing that will devour a nation without them ever recognizing it happening. All the news amounts to is a money-making, brain-washing machine that exerts its power by force to push its selfish agendas onto the general public. And those who are supposedly educated and intelligent follow along with their foolishness that is wrapped up as an attempt to seek what is best for the public. It’s very sad.

A radio station could play over and over again the most ridiculous song that has no real meaning or depth. But if they keep playing it and you keep hearing it, eventually you’ll start humming the tune or hearing it play in your head, without even wanting to do it. If the press presented torture and terrorizing human beings as acceptable or, even, necessary, people would get right in line and join them. They’d make light of it, and people would jump on their bandwagon.

If the media decided to violate rules of ethics and government laws to obtain a story, they could present their actions as justifiable and their mindless robots would believe them, and even support them in their immoral actions. They use their power over the people that they have enslaved to do their bidding. It’s too much power for one group in our society. And that’s because they abuse it and use it for destructive purposes.

The media should be regulated to prevent such abuses. The first thing they cry is about freedom of the press. But no freedom is true freedom without boundaries. People are free to purchase guns, but they are not free to go around killing other people. People are free to buy video cameras, but they are not free to spy on someone in the privacy of their own space. People are free to drive a car, but they are not free to get behind the wheel intoxicated. There must be rules to guide and instruct people on what is right. And that’s what the press needs – sanctions on what are acceptable practices. If they could and would do right and do good on their own, there wouldn’t be a need for a cap on their power. But they won’t do right.

The power that they have over the public and public opinion is more than the common citizen will ever be fully cognizant of them having. They should use that power for the true good of all the people, and instead of reporting all the bad stuff in the world, negativity, and fake news they should report about the Good News of Jesus Christ. That’ll encourage people. That’ll get people in the-know about how they can live good and holy lives before the Lord. That’ll give people hope. That’s what Christ does – He gives us all hope for an eternal life with Him.

And His life and His ministry is full of all the interesting details that the news reporters crave. He was immaculately conceived, born in a manger, and several babies throughout the land were ordered to be seized and killed in an attempt to find and get rid of Him. He lived a sinless life. He miraculously healed the sick, fed the hungry, and set the captives free. Everyone flocked to the Son of God. He was ambushed by an angry, jealous mob who killed the Precious Lamb of God by hanging Him on a tree. He was both God and man. And He could have stopped all that was happening. But He chose to die on the cross of Cavalry as a symbol and demonstration of His love for you and me, so that we can live eternally. He didn’t stay dead, though.

He was buried in a tomb. And when His disciples went to visit it, His body was no longer there. They reported Him missing, but Christ had risen. He rose from the dead, and He ascended back to the Father in heaven. If we believe in Him, confess that He is Lord, stop doing wrong and do what is right, and are baptized, we can and will be forgiven and be added to His church, live a better life on earth, and live with Him forever in heaven. That’s what the media needs to report. They should publicize the life of Christ, the Savior of the world.

The media has become a world of chaos, and it stirs up discord and ungodly behavior among the people. They use their influence over people for unrighteousness and selfish purposes. They use their freedom as a cloak to deceitfully scheme and carry out evil. That abusive power that it wields over the public should not be allowed them. While they have it, they should use that power for good – to motivate, to inspire, and to enrich the lives of those within their reach. Regardless of what they do, the fact of the matter is that God holds all power over all. He has the final say. And that’s the only report that matters.