Thursday; September 25

Several things have changed in my lifetime, but one of the ones that may have had the biggest impact is the number of news outlets.  When I was younger you may have had a couple of TV channels, a few radio stations and maybe a local or regional newspaper.  You may have subscribed to a magazine, but by the time they came in the mail, they were probably filled with old news and dated editorials.  Now we are moments away from local, national and international news.  We can find out the most intimate details of a situation in a matter of minutes.  Additionally, we can compare one version of a story with another and determine – in our own mind – the truth (and often the truth is somewhere in the middle).  Now, we might think that this mass presence of news is a good thing – and it can be – however, the modern problem is that we tend to news-shop.  Rather than digging deeper to find the truth, we are apt to find a media outlet that fits our chosen perspective and allow it to inundate us with their perspectives.  We are tempted to seek out what fits our narrative in an effort to reinforce our opinions.  Now, while this tends to follow human nature, it isn’t the best way to approach knowledge or wisdom.  Interestingly, a wise man from centuries ago made this observation, “The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” (Proverbs 18:15).  Notice that Solomon didn’t encourage us to reinforce our opinions, he praised a mind that was pursuing true knowledge.

Let’s make the effort to learn everything we can – even those things that challenge our own personal narrative.  When we do that, we will find the best balance by which to live our lives and understand our world.

Think About It!

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