If the news of the world is so important, if the fate of all mankind hangs in the balance, then why is there still time for commercials. A half-hour news program is interrupted on the television or radio every few minutes, generally thirty percent of the broadcast is set aside for advertising dollars, the rest continues to tell us about such terrible occurrences that all of the fate of mankind is on the brink of disaster, but until that moment arrives, don’t forget to purchase this laundry detergent.
Critical thinking skills are not taught in the majority of any learning institutions, no matter if the enrollee is in what is considered a school of higher learning or a pre-school class, critical thinking skills are dangerous to those in positions of authority, memorization and rote repetitiveness are best, for they do not lead to debate, and once a person becomes cognizant of opposing factors, debate is generally what follows. Cattle are a herd beast, there is usually one that they will follow, but for the most part they just wander around eating all day. Most human beings are generally the same, they have no idea where they are going, and so they are easily led, they can see no further than this life, and what is put in front of them is all they most generally will look at. The natural man, the unrepentant sinner, is nothing more than a brute beast, (2 Peter 2:12) he believes himself to be in control of his destiny, but does not realize he is only moments away from death, he will pay no more attention to his eternal soul than he would the latest unnecessary fact of his continuing existence, and so the immediate is all that is important to him, and then only in how it will affect his life either adversely or in a positive manner.
I have never met anyone who does not know from one source or another what is going on in either his own community or the world at large, and I have met many who can find no displeasure in speaking about these so-called pressing matters at length. “Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?” (Luke 12:14) “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) The Lord didn’t cry because Lazarus was dead, He did not raise him from the dead so his family could be reunited with him, He raised him to show the power of God. He shed tears because of the temporary heartache He saw in those that loved Lazarus, you do not cry for someone who is going to be alive again in a few minutes. But our Lord was also the one who said, man I am not going to go and judge over some ridiculous inheritance, He said “Let the dead bury their dead.” (Matt. 8:22) He knew what was important and what was not.
Every nation on this planet has some form of “memory days,” days set aside to recall a certain event from their past. Every media organization will at least give it a passing notice, but then the next item we are all to be concerned with is brought right back to the forefront, reminding us of the great and terrible deeds that are occurring, attempting to inform us that this is of vital interest to all, that the fate of mankind hangs in the balance, “And we will tell you all about it, right after this commercial break.” If the average Christian would devote just one-tenth of the time they spend seeking out the new and so-called informative, important news of the day as he did in obeying the commandments of the Word of God, the world would look nothing like it does today. But the fear of the Lord in many has been replaced with the fear of personal harm, the knowledge of the Most High has been traded for the knowledge of the world and what it deems as important.
What information can you possibly garner from this world that is relevant in the life of the born-again believer, beyond the actions occurring that show the approach of the tribulation period, what possible news is so relevant from the world that it should take away your responsibilities to the Lord God. Yes, terrible things are happening, keep working, yes, the world is destroying itself, keep serving, yes, there are extremely terrible times approaching, stop paying so much attention to all these things and go tell your neighbor of the only hope of rescue from them. How much of what you are paying so much attention to now do you plan on reminiscing about and discussing a thousand years from now.
The herd is meandering past us, it is growing larger, it will try to drag you along with it, the mind that is stayed on Christ will not be sucked into all the hype, all the so-called important things going on. Much prayer is required in this area, critical thinking skills are mandatory, some attention must be paid to these ongoing matters of course, but only for the purpose of glorifying God by our lack of any real concern for them. Do not allow yourself to be trapped by the world’s useless value systems, use what you are shown to warn others, but do not stop with the warning, tell them of the way of escape, the way to escape all the trepidation, the anxiousness, the fear. Show them the way of peace, so that your Father in heaven is glorified.
“My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change: For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?” (Prov. 24:21-22)
