Episode 18: Swine flu rant by proxy...

My good friend Kazia Ferguson posted this on her blog yesterday. I think she is dead on with this, and I coudn't agree more!

With each passing day I find myself becoming increasingly annoyed with the news media. From the ever revolving reports of the economic recession to the current health crisis of the swine flu it has become a never ending source of over the top drama. Media dramatics are nothing new. Anyone remember Y2K??? But in the current age of the internet and 24 hour news channels it is just more readily available.

As I watched the news last night I paid extra careful attention to the how they reported the news and I found that instead of starting off their broadcast with good news, they had to report all the bad news first. It was at least 10 minutes of doom and gloom before they got to anything uplifting. I was certain the world was coming to an end and I had the swine flu. News reporters seem to thrive on the current crisis and are waiting on the edge of their seats for the next crisis. Think back to the last "snow storm" we had. They had news coverage of the "Storm Of the Year" on all day & to make sure we really understood just how cold and dangerous it was outside, they had reporters standing on every street corner shivering to death and telling us not to leave the house because it was just too trecherous. I admit I did watch about 2 hrs of the coverage that day and then realized they just kept saying they same things over and over. It's really easy to get caught up in all the drama and if I am not careful fear and anxiety will overcome my mind.

One of the many things I took away from Town Hall for Hope last week was something very simple that Dave said. "Fear is not a fruit of the spirit." Let me check, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Nope, fear is not listed anywhere there. But sometimes it seems to be easier to live in fear than in love, joy, peace...

I love the acrostic F.E.A.R. False Evidence Appearing Real. I think sometimes it's easier to believe all the hype and get caught up in the fear because it is real life stuff they are reporting. They just take it and over dramatize it to make people continue to watch. It's like a car wreck you can't stop watching. You don't want to watch, but you just can't turn your head.

We as Christians can use this fear as a megaphone to reach people that feel hopeless. We can use tools like, FPU, Town Hall for Hope, the Single Mom's Car Care Day and LifeTeams to reach those who have lost all hope. It's time for us as a church to use these opportunities to stand up and say I will not live in FEAR, but I will live in the Fruits of the Spirit.

What can I say to that except....oink!?