It was the newscaster Martyn Lewis who suggested our news diet was too grim and too filled with fear. That was back in 1993. Nothing has changed. In fact if anything, it’s much worse.
More recently, Martyn Lewis said this:
“How ironic… that a
profession so committed to fairness and accuracy in the stories it [covers],
does not fully extend those qualities to the news agenda - the choice of
television news stories.
Good stories are there
….. But too frequently they are given low priority. News editors across the
world stress the need for young reporters to hunt for conflict and criticism.
If they don't find it, fewer of their stories are used. So another generation
of journalists is infected with old standards and judgements.” (USA speech,
2011)
Our headlines are fear related. Pretty much each day and
every day. The television news starts with the latest riots, the government
failures, the lack of food, the lack of transport, the lack of petrol, the lack
of toys for Christmas…. You can fill in the blanks I’m sure. Much of this is
fear-mongering. The promotion of stories to provoke fear… to provoke an
audience.
Many have fallen prey to fear as a result. I heard a
business woman recently charging the Church to live without fear, because there
was a wave of fear affected people in need of prayer, coming their way as a
result of Covid.
The Bible tells us that ‘God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and
self-control.’ (2 Timothy 1:7).
There it is. That’s how we live as Christians. We appreciate
the need for care. We keep to the rules. But we don’t live in fear.
No more so than with our response to Covid. It’s serious but
there need be no fear. There is a significant difference between a measured and
careful response to the virus when compared to one borne of fear that leaves
the Church paralysed just at the point when it is needed most.
It’s time for the Church to be opening its doors wide,
welcoming all, praying for those affected by Covid and seeking God and His
purposes, which are way beyond the fears propagated in the press. It’s time for
Christians to be back worshipping together. Online services can only take you
so far. There is a need to meet, to pray, to encourage in a way that is forever
limited on a TV screen.
I’m not sure the BBC or the Daily Mail are about to move
away from their fearmongering. But the Church can. Let’s step into all that God
has planned for us. We are the body of Christ, we are a voice for the lost, a
healing hand for the hurting. And a declaration of faith in the future for
those chained in fear.
