"New(s)?"

“New(s)?”

Recent years have brought a number of 24 hour “news” stations to cable TV. That’s a lot of time to fill and the outlets have done so in a variety of ways. And with this going on public figures and institutions have come under increased scrutiny. All this makes me thankful that I’m not well known beyond my immediate circles.

This past fall I became curious about the origin of the word “news”. I heard once that it’s an acronym for “North, East, West, South” suggesting widespread impact but quickly learned such isn’t the case. Another conjecture is “Notable Events, Weather, Sports” but there’s no basis for this either, Mostly likely, according to etymologists, the term goes back to the 14^th century referring to “new things” and was used in the plural. Now it’s a singular noun involving the provision of information to the public. But before it reaches us it’s gone through filters so what we hear may not accurately reflect the original facts.

It seems there’s not much “new” in today’s news—the specifics may change but most are variations of a biblical theme stated by God’s prophet: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it….?” (Jeremiah 17:9, Amplified). So maybe it’s time to call it what it is: “olds”.

Can this trend be changed? I know of only one way to bring this about and that’s by an inward action of God. Only He can work in the human heart. David recognized this truth when he prayed after committing two grievous sins, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10, emphasis added). Paul shows how this takes place: “…If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, emphasis added). Once the heart is changed we become “…a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Then we can “…display a new nature, because (we are new persons)….” (Ephesians 4:24, NLT), sing a new song of praise to God (Psalm 40:3) and obey Jesus’ new (in quality, not time) commandment to love each other (John 13:34-35).

As God’s people we must understand the times in which we’re living so we can fulfill His purpose to “…make disciples….” (Matthew 28:19) and be part of His transforming the “olds” into the “news”.

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan