The Bible records two things which make God laugh. Those who rise up against him and the wicked. (Psalm 2:4; Psalm 37:13)
How different is God's response than how we normally respond. When people rise up against us, when the wicked flourish, we become angry, defensive, questioning God why He'd allow this to happen. In other words, we lose our joy.
I haven't subscribed to anything but a hometown paper for years. I rarely watch TV news. I only occasionally read news stories on line. For a while I had the UM Portal set as my homepage, but I find them all too depressing. It's not that I simply bury my head in the sand and pretend that evil doesn't exist. I always figured that if something is really newsworthy, I'd hear about it somewhere. I have come to understand that I can't fill my life with bad news and expect to maintain the joyful attitude that I believe a Christian is to exhibit. I haven't yet come to the point where my attitude is like that of Christ Jesus, to whom every knee will one day bow and every tongue confess as Lord. I can't laugh at the wicked. But God does. God knows how futile is the cause of the wicked and those who oppose Him.
Avoiding bad vibes -- that's good self-care. It seems like some people really enjoy being unhappy, and find what they are looking for. I don't read the news as much as I used to, either. I'd rather laugh.
Posted by: John | August 22, 2007 at 07:47 PM