Today’s Scripture
Reading (December 14, 2015): Joshua 23
We are a people easily misled and tricked into believing what
is false. News headlines do it all the time in an effort to attract our
attention. A recent headline that caught my attention heralded that the woman
who perpetrated the San Bernardino killings had a Canadian connection. But when
the article was read, the Canadian connection proved to be that the school she
attended in Pakistan also had classes in both Canada and the United States, and
that the head of the school currently resides in Canada. Not really much of a
Canadian connection, but the headline worked – I read the article. Or maybe it
is the headline that proclaims “Obama’s New Plan to Attack Terrorism” which is really
“Obama’s Same Old Plan to Attack Terrorism with Different Titles” depending on
which side of the political aisle you have decided to declare your attachment.
There is nothing objective about the news, because there is nothing objective
about us – we are nothing more than the sum of our beliefs.
And so we are easily made to believe things that are false.
Our parents used to be concerned about who it is that we hung around with as
children. The question was whether or not they were a good influence on us –
because the truth is that our worldviews can often be molded by the environment
in which we live and work. We cannot believe that the workplace gossip has no
effect on us. It is often shaping us in a very real way. Our workplaces often
decide for us our economic outlook, our political stance, our spiritual beliefs
and our physical health. And it is all there in the things we learn as we talk
around the water cooler.
Even the news we seek out shapes us. It is no wonder that Fox
News and CNN share the news differently – they are separated by a very real
ideological difference and both see the world in which we live very
differently. I have friends that find news stories that I rarely see, and the
difference is in the way that we see our world. If you see the world as a
dangerous place, then you will find the evidence of that belief wherever you
look. If you believe that the devil is hiding under every rock, you will find
him there. If you believe that the world and the people in it are basically
good, then get ready for people to call you a Pollyanna, but you really will
see the world as a more positive place.
As Joshua begins to exit public life in Israel, he has one
last piece of advice for his followers – see God and love him in the lives that
you will live. No matter what happens, see the hand of God in your life.
Recognize in the good that God’s presence has enriched you. Recognize in the bad
that his strength has carried you. See God everywhere that you go and love his
presence around you. If you see God then he will be there. This is his promise
to each and every one of us. Live with a world view that allows him to be the
one who shapes your every single moment.
And be careful to love him for everything that he does in
your life. If you will do this, then the world really will be a better place –
at least for you.
Tomorrow’s Scripture
Reading: Joshua 24
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