We often say, “No news is good news,” and in some cases I suspect that is true. Recently, however, I have become increasingly disgusted by the news media and the seeming obsession with exclusively reporting what’s wrong with the world. It’s downright depressing. From the terrorists bombings to hate crimes. To the growing child sex slave trade to AIDS. To drunk driving to spousal abuse. Murders, robberies and hurricanes and tornados. And all this woe with a negative if not cynical bias. As someone quipped with the election rhetoric gearing up, “Some of these people are more critical of our president than they ever were of Sadaam Hussein.”
And if one survives the nightly news and tries to find a family entertainment program, it’s either some supposed “reality show” (which thankfully isn’t like any reality most of us have experienced) or some cop show reexamining the seedy side of America. And then there are the sitcoms, which are blatantly explicit and increasingly interspersed with profanity and the use of God’s name.
I realize that the real reality is that wholesome, inspiring news wouldn’t sell advertising, which may be further indication of America’s taste for the extreme, bizarre and macabre.
It’s true, when a couple honors their marriage vows for 60 years, it doesn’t make national news. Or when hundreds of our academy and high school students go on short-term mission trips, no one does a reality show about it. When Adventist teachers dedicate 40 years to training, modeling and loving students, no one gives them a red carpet or golden award. When community service workers and Pathfinder staff, church leaders and lay elders contribute millions of dollars worth of donated labor, few on Earth take note. But these things are happening and making a profound difference.
This is Good News
One such quiet, good news happening is the successful program at our own Cookie’s Retreat for mothers and children at risk. No, you probably won’t hear about it on national news or see it visited by a reality TV crew. But I can tell you, it is reality, and it is making a phenomenal impact. (See page 6.)
So if you’re also frustrated with the lack of good news being reported, why not start your own boycott? Spend less time with the media and more time with wholesome, uplifting, inspiring enterprises.
Paul wrote a long time ago whatsoever things are true, and right, and pure and lovely, think on these things. I suspect this may not have been only for the Philippians. The world needs some good news today too. And who better than Adventists to give it to them!
