News Media | Wayfarer

“‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.’”
Leviticus 19:15 (NIV)

I’m sure that I’m not the only one who has noticed that the level of vitriol between both individuals and tribes of individuals has risen dramatically in the last 10 years. The political divide has a lot to do with this. In my observation, the mainstream media and cable news (on both sides) have helped spur the increased animosity. All I have to do is take about 30 seconds to scroll through the feed of X or BlueSky and my mind and soul will be coated with the residue of anger, rage, and savage written attacks against the “other” of whoever is spewing their personal prejudice and hatred.

So far in this chapter-a-day journey through the ancient Hebrew priestly manual known as Leviticus, God has prescribed offerings and ritual sacrifices for the Hebrews. He has appointed priests, given them instructions for their job, and instituted the sacrificial system. God then explained what made people ritually “clean” or “unclean,” and prescribed an annual Day of Atonement in which the High Priest made one sacrifice for the sin of all the people, and foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus would make on the cross. The final section of Leviticus (chapters 17-26) are instructions God gives to His people for “holy” living. Today’s chapter is like a potpourri of individual prescriptions, each one of them standing on their own.

As I read through the instructions in today’s chapter, there were some that make little or no sense in today’s world and even scholars will agree that the purpose and meaning has been lost over time, like not wearing clothing made woven of two kinds of material. There are cultural taboos that had to do with being “different” from the tribes around them and the connotations that came with them at that period of time, like having tattoos (fyi: Wendy just got her latest tattoo yesterday. It’s gorgeous). But most of the prescribed instructions in today’s chapter have to do with treating others, all others with respect, honesty, courtesy, and love. It is from today’s chapter that Jesus quotes the second of the two commands that He said sum up all of the Law and the Prophets: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” (vs. 18)

Parents, employees, children, the disabled, immigrants, the elderly, customers, neighbors, slaves, rich, poor, and the tribe as a whole are called out as those one is to deferentially treat with love, generosity, honor, and dignity. I personally found it fascinating that one of the prescriptions instructed the Hebrews to not show partiality to either the great or the poor, but to treat each fairly and objectively. I found it particularly poignant as I see one side of the political spectrum demonizing the rich with a broad brush as greedy, heartless, law breaking charlatans. The other side, meanwhile, demonizes the poor with a broad brush as lazy, freeloading, drug addicted, and worthless drains on society.

In the quiet this morning as I pondered these prescriptions for treating others, I thought about a conversation Wendy and I had on vacation a few weeks ago. We were in New Orleans for the week before the Super Bowl (unintentional timing) and then spent a week on a cruise. We were surrounded by crowds and we interacted with a diverse swath of humanity both weeks and in our travel to and from New Orleans. What we witnessed was people treating one another with kindness and respect. We met people from all walks of life. We interacted with different races, ethnicities, geographic backgrounds, education levels, and socio-economic status. With it being Super Bowl week, believe me that the uber rich were there right along with NOLA’s regular homeless residents. We were encouraged by our experiences with everyone.

Which leads me to think that perhaps the best thing I can do for my mind and soul is to stay away from the mainstream media and just ignore the feeds on X and Bluesky. If I focus on doing as God prescribes with the people I interact with today in my circles of influence I will have a greater affect on this world than if I spend my day screaming my political opinions to the internet.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” Mark 13:32 (NLT)

I could not help this morning but be reminded of a few months ago when an obscure, quack pot preacher named Harold Camping predicted the end of the world on May 22 and, because of a national billboard campaign, it became national news. He’d made the prediction before and was just as wrong. Just last year the news was all about the fact that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012 and, spurred on by a Hollywood movie that picked up on the storyline, everyone was predicting the world’s end.

Throughout my journey I’ve witnessed several doomsday predictions. Hal Lindsey‘s book 1983 Countdown to Armageddon was a big seller. I lived through 1984 when George Orwell‘s famous book of the same title created all sorts of doomsday talk. I lived through Y2K and the craziness of people stockpiling food and supplies for the apocalypse that was predicted. The Camping incident and the 2012 nonsense are just two more in a long string of doomsday predictions. As humans we tend to be obsessed with apocalypse. Knowing that, the news media loves to play into those base human fears.

Here is my easy three step guide for responding to end-of-the-world predictions. This is based on two very simple observations and one crucial teaching Jesus made:

Doomsday will eventually happen. Don’t kid yourself.
No one has inside information when it will be. Not even Jesus Himself. Period.
We don’t need to be afraid: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:26 (NLT) “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28 (NLT)