Dealing With Media OverloadSample

A Genuine Response

With media overload, you can hear about crime or other tragic national news. It just happens. As a human being, you feel sorrow when you see things that are sorrowful. Sad news affects us just as it does everyone else. That’s right; there’s nothing wrong with that.

The Bible says to weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). This verse was written with a local church context in mind, where you have fellowship and interaction with other believers. Our weeping is not just a general response to anything happening in the world. It is caring about people as you meet them along the way, first and foremost in your own fellowship, in other churches, and in other settings. If I meet someone who is hurting, I hurt with them and care for them.

Misunderstanding the relational nature of this verse can lead to problems. This is kind of scary, but we begin to give voice to emotions that we don’t even really feel. One of the most overused words I see right now is “heartbroken.” If you use it in response to an item you heard on the news, are you really heartbroken? Or is that just a word that you’re using? Some people use it to virtue signal, to sound like a person who cares. They want to let everybody know that they care, but they’re not really grieving. They walk away from the tweet or whatever feeling just fine, and that’s dangerous. That’s hypocritical. It’s a false kind of righteousness.

What we say should be genuine; it should reflect what we genuinely are experiencing, usually with the relationships that are right here, within arm's length of us. Sometimes it is easier to love at a distance, to “love” with words rather than loving the people who are right there, face-to-face with us. I think my focus should be on loving the people who are in my life in a way that honors Jesus. Then, as I come in contact with the rest of the world, let me reflect His character.

This devotional was based on an episode of the Straight Truth Podcast. If you’d like to know more about this subject, please follow this link: https://straighttruth.net/how-should-christians-deal-with-media-overload/