Why does the news you read in the paper, see on TV or read on the Internet always sound so bad? I once had it explained this way. Our news focuses on the negative because it is out of the ordinary, atypical, not an everyday occurrence. Tornadoes, then, are newsworthy for several reasons (the ecological impact, the economic impact, the human perspective, etc.). Yet, tornadoes do not happen every day, so they arrest our attention, especially if they happen where we live. The point being made is that not everything happening in the world is bad. Of course, bad things do happen. We should not, however, allow the bad to keep us from seeing the good. An objective perspective is needed.
The same can be true spiritually. Elijah complained to God, “The Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left…” (1 Kings 19:10). Elijah was viewing the world through Jezebel’s threat to kill him. His response to God was, “Nobody serves you but me, and they’re trying to kill me!” Obviously, the situation was bad in Israel, but not all bad. God reminded Elijah there were 7,000 in Israel who had not worshipped Baal (1 Kings 19:18). God gave Elijah a more objective perspective.
It is easy to sit back and complain about problems, real or imaginary, in the Lord’s church. That the church has problems is, no doubt, true. We need, however, to keep an objective perspective; not everything in the church is bad. Reading the Corinthian letters, the church at Corinth clearly had serious problems. Paul, however, did not reject them; he dealt with them as brethren. He commended the good, rebuked the negative and sought to instruct and encourage all in righteousness. Similarly, we should neither condone evil nor ignore what is good. Remember the word of our Lord, “On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
We live in a world of sin, but there is hope in Christ. Keep a proper perspective of life. As Paul admonished, “Test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22), for “the one who calls you is faithful” (1 Thessalonians 5:24). Never forget, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Above all else, no matter how bleak life becomes to us, God is victorious. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:57-58).
