More and more, as I watch the media report on COVID cases, vaccinations, and other things associated with the pandemic, I wonder how this reporting is shaping the way in which I am dealing with and living through these times. I sometimes question the information that I am being given. Who decides what to report and how it is reported?

These thoughts lead me to wonder what is shaping my worldview as I live through the pandemic? There are some pretty complicated definitions of “worldview”. A very simplified one is that it is the way in which a person looks at the world. It governs how we live, not where we live. It defines why we live, what we live for, what we appreciate, what we reject, what we are passionate about, and what we detest. Your worldview represents your most fundamental beliefs and assumptions about the universe you inhabit.

When I watch the nightly news, I feel I am presented with a pretty grim picture of the world. Who of us has not asked ourselves why they just can’t report some happy news sometimes? Is it true that good news does not sell? That we would rather be watching bad news. I am reminded of a quote by David McCullough in his book, “The American Spirit”:

When bad news is riding high and despair in fashion, when loud mouths and corruption seem to own center stage, when some keep crying that the country is going to the dogs, remember it’s always been going to the dogs in the eyes of some, and that 90 percent, or more, of the people are good people, generous-hearted, law-abiding, good citizens who get to work on time, do a good job, love their country, pay their taxes, care about their neighbors, care about their children’s education, and believe, rightly, as you do, in the ideals upon which our way of life is founded.

The German theologian Karl Barth counselled Christians to read the newspaper in one hand with the Bible in the other. Is the Bible a counterweight to all of the dismal news reported today? As Christians, we believe that the Bible informs our world view. It undergirds our actions in the world. That in the teachings of Jesus, there is material upon which to set our moral compass and guidance for living life. This is why every Sunday we read a passage from the Scriptures and then the minister seeks to interpret it for the contemporary context.

I have found that reading a passage from the Bible and dwelling upon it brings a great deal of comfort when I am troubled by things happening around me, whether close to me or in the wider world. It is amazing how ancient words can have so much relevance to the contemporary world. If you don’t know where to start in the bible, a good place is with the Gospel of John which lays out the life of Jesus in a mystical way. I always find there is lots to ponder with John. If you don’t have a bible at home, there are lots of online versions such as: Online Bible. Just type in what you would like to read.

Blessings for the coming week,

Michael