Why does the news you read in the paper or see on TV 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. A hurricane, then, is newsworthy for several reasons (the ecological impact, the economic impact, the human perspective, etc.), one of which is its uniqueness. The point being made is 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. A balanced perspective is needed.
The same can be true spiritually. Elijah complained to God, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of Hosts, but the Israelites have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life” (1 Kings 19:10). Elijah was viewing the world through Jezebel’s threat to kill him. His response to God is, “Nobody serves you but me, and they are trying to kill me!” Obviously, the situation was bad in Israel, but it was not as bad as he was making it out to be. God reminded Elijah there were 7,000 in Israel who had not worshipped Baal (1 Kings 19:18). God helped Elijah see his life from a different point of view.
It is easy to sit back and complain about problems, real or imaginary, in the Lord’s church. That the church has problems, no doubt, is true. We need, however, to keep things in 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 never condone evil or ignore what is good. Remember the word of our Lord, “Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18).
We live in a world of sin, but there is always hope in Christ. Keep a proper perspective of life. Paul admonishes, “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22), for, “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
