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Painting/photo of Jerusalem Temple-Casual English Bible

What to do when the news is depressing

Stephen M. Miller
man reading newspaper
NO WAY TO WAIT FOR A BUS. We shouldn’t have to read so much bad news. It’s depressing enough that we have to ride a bus instead of a bullet train. Photo by Nicolas Alejandro Street Photography/flickr.

I FEEL BUMMED.

I could stop reading the news. That wouldn’t fix it.

I’m living the problem.

There’s so much wrong. From big to small.

In my country we have a representative form of government that no longer represents us. They represent their employers…their biggest election contributors. All I contributed was enough to get a tee shirt, which I’m afraid to wear in public after accidentally wearing it once to the mall. Not all Kansans are polite.

We have a court system that runs on money, too. We hire lawyers like cattle barons and sheepherders used to hire fast guns in the Old West. Best lawyer wins, or so it seems. We don’t fight for truth and justice. We fight to win.

We have an infrastructure that feels more and more Third World, now that I’ve traveled abroad and seen what others have. What’s up with our trains from the 1800s and why do they still follow the rivers? If they’re going to do that, they ought to stop more often so we can fish.

The Middle East, a powder keg as long as I’ve been alive, is more anarchical than I’ve ever seen it. And now we’ve got nukes in the mix.

Islamic extremism has gone global and it’s hard to imagine them not eventually getting their hands on nukes. And using them. That’s what the president says keeps him up at night.

Russia invades the Ukraine and steals part of the country, while everyone watches. Which makes other Russian neighbors nervous.

China, more innovative, steals part of the ocean. They’re building land base islands on top of shallow reefs in the wide open sea. These bases sit in the South China Sea, which looks like a big bowl of water surrounded by the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. It’s a great place for China to keep an eye on everyone. Which is why everyone is nervous, and the USA is flying a spy plane there hauling a banner: “Not on my watch.”

Oh yeah, one more thing. We’re melting the ice on the planet and the weather’s upset about it.

The world seems crazy and out of control. Nobody has a handle on it. The United States doesn’t know what to do. The United Nations isn’t saying much. The European Union doesn’t seem to weigh in on anything big outside their clique.

Humanity doesn’t seem to have a structure for dealing with these big problems. No system in place. No protocol for creating a system. Heck, nobody’s even talking about it. Or if they are, nobody’s talking about them talking about it.

I wonder if the Jews felt like this in the first century: helpless, hopeless, bummed?

Reading their stuff, it sure sounds like they did. Many of their writings found among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls seem fixated on the promise that the Messiah will come soon to save them.

  • “Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming…He is coming to save you’” (Isaiah 35:4).
  • “He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited” (Isaiah 11:4).
  • “The blind see, the lame walk” (Matthew 11:5).
  • “And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness” (Isaiah 35:8).

Or maybe Amtrak. On super rails. I’d be okay with that for now.

Here’s the thing, the Messiah came. That’s what we Christians say.

Shouldn’t the world look a little more like it?

More like the good guys are making a bigger difference. Like the poor are getting a fair shake. And like the sick are getting medical help.

Yet we’ve still got a mess on our hands 2,000 years later.

So I think it’s okay to start with feeling bummed. But it can’t be okay to stay there.

The good news is there’s so much to fix, we get to take our pick at where to start.

But we’ve got to get started.

Maybe we could start with the familiar. How about we look around and find something that’s broken and fix it?

 

Bible Gateway Blogger

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About Stephen M. Miller

STEPHEN M. MILLER is an award winning bestselling Christian author of easy-reading books about the Bible and Christianity and author of the Casual English Bible® paraphrase. His books have sold over two million copies and include The Complete Guide to the Bible and Who’s and Where’s Where in the Bible.

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Comments

  1. Wayne Sacchi

    May 27, 2015 at 3:19 pm

    I see we are in the the same kind of funk — good observations that cannot be solved by voting for either party…

    In order to fix this broken world, the remedy must come from fixing humanity first — no a general overhaul — no a regeneration!

    Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. (John 3:3 NIV)

    The change needs to begin in Us to change the world! I go through this desperation every election cycle when I have to read all the negative facebook comments from those that think that Politicians, political parties, pundits, government, and religion is going to solve the world’s problem. If you want social justice let the Prince of Peace regenerate that heart of stone and watch the world change! My disgust comes from those in the church who claim to be Christians and nothing changes. Religion seems to breed a lot of hatred.

    Anyway, you got me going — it might be a religious cliche, but I can’t wait for Christ to come back and put an end to all this mess — so far, that at least, gives me some comfort.

    Reply
  2. Janice

    May 29, 2015 at 11:30 am

    I love your printed pieces…I think you should run for President…under a Community Party…not under a religion, for ones religion wouldn’t matter. Where the sense of community, charity, humanity, and common sense reign. I live each day wondering what in the world went wrong, and look at every new fad just as a “changing of times”, but can no longer look away, or say that this is what the my parents or grandparents viewed as “outrageous”, as the times changed for them. …or is it all relative. It is worrisome, it is scary, and I so hope for brighter days.

    Reply
    • Stephen M. Miller

      May 29, 2015 at 2:33 pm

      Jeepers, I’m not sure how to take this. I was with you until you said I should run as a Communist. I grew up a Buckeye.

      Reply

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