As Christians we enjoy a glorious comfort in that we know the Lord is in complete control of not only the world, but our own lives as well.
We know through the promises in His Word that we will be victorious over the forces of darkness. This of course includes the dark death through abortion of those little ones not yet born. Through Jesus, God’s promise also provide forgiveness for the murder of these babies if those responsible would but claim His forgiveness. Christians are aware that our God is no liar. His Word is true.
Media-knocking too common
Yet we, as weak human beings, find ourselves discouraged at times when we turn on the television or pick up a newspaper and see that Morgentaler has grabbed another victory at the expense of the little life. Our hearts sink when we hear that our hospitals are doing more abortions than ever before. It has become popular in this information age for us to blame the media for our set backs in the fight against abortion and the growth of Secularism and Humanism in our society. In pro-life circles, media-knocking has become to common a pastime. My most recent frustration occurred a few weeks ago when the Pro-abortionist’s rally at Queens Park in Toronto was reported. The television that evening said that there were a few hundred people present. The next morning the Metro section of the Globe and Mail informed its readers that 2500 people participated in the rally. The same day the front page headline in the Toronto Star boasted an attendance of 5000. Which was a manipulation of the facts and I find it difficult to resist the temptation to lash out at the media.
Historians claim that the real reason Hitler Lost World War II was because he did not fully understand his situation. He did not have proper facts because as things started to go poorly for Germany, Hitler began to punish the bearers of bad news. Soon no-one dared tell him the truth. Not knowing the truth he could not act properly. By using the media as our whipping boy we risk the danger of copying Hitler’s mistake. While it would not cause us to lose the war, our preoccupation with bitterness towards the bearers and manipulators of the news can keep us from our proper duties. When we ignore our duties we contribute to further victories for the other side. This again adds to our discouragement. The cycles must be broken.
Read the facts
In the Bible Jesus warns us to watch out for false prophets (Matt 7:15) and to beware of false reports (Ex. 23:7). When faced with a report that we feel has been manipulated we have a choice. We can unconditionally believe what we consume from the media, or we can heed God’s warning and divorce ourselves from irrational and false reports.
Because I consider it necessary to keep updated on current events, I use media reports. However, I choose to accept or reject their conclusions and simply glean the factual information that I require. We too often give far too much authority to the printed word. Many feel when they read it in the paper, or see it on television the material has been properly researched and is presented without bias. Some Christians will swallow hearsay and half truths even when they contravene the Word of God. As believers, our authority is God’s Word. No-one has license to doubt it.
To suspect that we are losing the battle and that we will be anything but victorious is to mistrust the promises of God. Let us pray that the Lord will give us the wisdom to be discriminating consumers of the wealth of information available. We should also ask Him for the strength that we may guard ourselves from allowing negatives to discourage us and take control of our attitude.
Let us rejoice in the victory that is the Lord’s!
Douglas Moore is president of The Christian Action Council-Toronto.
