If you pay any kind of attention to the world around us today, you probably think things look pretty bleak. That is my take, things are not looking good, not only in America, but in other countries as well. Because of this, I think some people adopt a “bury your head in the sand” mentality. Some folks react exactly opposite to this, they become totally absorbed in the evil. These folks do the 24/7 news cycle and listen to several doomsday podcasts designed to enhance fear. So, is there some type of balance that can be achieved between these two positions? I think we have to try.
If not just for our safety, I think we need to have some idea of what is going on in our community, state, nation, and even the world. That does not mean you have to be glued to the TV for hours. There are ways to subscribe to a newsletter or podcast that is trustworthy and able to keep you up on the main current events. You can absorb all of this information in about 30 minutes or a little more.
The flip side to this is we must avoid becoming totally locked into a comprehensive current event’s worldview. Spend some time getting up to speed each morning, then move on to other things. If you cannot do this, you will lead a life based on fear. It is difficult to lead a productive life with this kind of fear mindset.
The bottomline is, we need to try to maintain some kind of balance to all of this. It is wise to have some idea of what is going on in society these days. However, we need to pursue all other aspects of our lives at the same time. Believe it or not, some things are more important than politics and current events. We have families, church families, other organizations, our work and hobbies to pursue.
I guess it is like spending a valuable coin. You have to spend both sides of the coin, social responsibility on one side and personal life interests on the other side.
Doug
