Good Monday morning, world! I sincerely hope that your Monday is turning out to be a good one, not the stereotypical kind that signals impending doom.
And since I want you to have a good day and a great week, I’m going to give you some important information – inside information – which will make all of your days more peaceful, less stressful, and far less depressing: don’t read the news.
The News
Dear friends, followers, and folk of all persuasions, listen to someone who knows: trust the news about as far as you can throw it – with a bad arm, that is.
Seriously, when you pick up a news paper (they still have those, actually), or watch the news on TV or the internet, never take for granted that you are getting all the news worth hearing, or even the truth, for that matter.
Media outlets are businesses, and businesses have to make money, a profit, to stay afloat. Therefore, whatever kind of news the executives think will capture your attention, that’s the news they’ll report. It doesn’t matter what it is, just as long as it is sensational enough to keep you coming back to consume update after juicy update.
Through the years I have learned some painful lessons about the news media. Most of the time, if not all of the time, they are quick to release a story, even if they have to make up some of the details. The longer the media can carry a story without adequate details, the longer they can keep people coming back for answers they rarely give.
Know for certain that whatever is on the news is what is meant to get your attention. If it strikes a nerve, makes you angry, or causes you disgust, you will pay attention. Many times this means giving vague details meant to stir up arguments on social media. The longer they can keep people talking, arguing with each other, making judgmental accusations, and playing armchair-attorneys, the better.
Look, long before there was a CNN, a FOX News Network, or illiterate Facebook threads, the Bible contained an antidote for the modern news story.
“Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.” – Proverbs 26:20
But isn’t that unfortunate? In a day when we should be able to have access to what really matters, about all we ever get is the sensational, the ill-reported, and the “conversation fire starter.”
Here’s a suggestion: Don’t play along, and keep your wood to yourself; the innocent and the victim will thank you.
The Recovering Legalist 
Amen. Every now and then I warn someone who seems to really like one of these conspiracy theory news sites/persons to take what they hear with a grain of salt. They have just enough truth in their messages to make the lie that much more believable.
I recently read comments on Facebook regarding a story involving me. Hateful stuff, too. But here’s the thing, I was called judgmental for criticizing their judgmental, ill-informed accusations!!! Do you get that? I know the truth, they don’t, but they can judge me for me correcting them!! Good grief!
That’s the nature of the old nature. It does not like correction.