First Light
For many years it was my habit to start the day with the newspaper. I savored my customary peanut butter and honey sandwich (lightly buttered) and washed it down with milk, while digesting the Calgary Herald, a long-time friend who greeted me seven days a week at our front door. As a writer and editor, I need to be aware of current trends and events, I kept reminding myself. And so I spent ten or fifteen minutes each morning dutifully scanning the bulky pages for perceptive quotes, quips and facts. My wife munched cold cereal nearby, gazing out our dining room window, talking to the kids, or asking me questions I sometimes answered.
One day a certain truth dawned on me. “Honey,” I said, “Listen to this.” Ramona listened as I read the following headlines which were all on page three:
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- Car bomb kills 21 in Russia
- Man dies in fire
- Smuggling ring’s suspected boss nabbed
- 20 die after plane crashes on island
- Thousands protest nuclear waste move
- Police arrest six in pedophile plot
- Bus plunges into ravine killing 14
- Desire for revenge sparked beating
Folding the newspaper and tucking it into the bottom of the birdcage, it occurred to me that my habit of starting the day this way was contributing to a rising stress level that was a growing concern. And while we dare not hide from the fact that the world is a tragic place where bad things happen, several questions came to mind:
- Does the news spark compassion, prayer, and generosity, or an icy numbness within me?
- What did past cultures miss by not knowing what occurred a world away?
- What benefit can we possibly receive from a daily diet of bad news?
- Is this really news, or merely a compilation of what editors who need to sell newspapers think people will read?
I made a decision that day to save the newspaper for later. I still read it, but I don’t start the day with it nor do I let the sun go down with the news. If I skip a few weeks, chances are I didn’t miss a thing. In fact, sometimes the best news is no news at all. And when I search the newspaper, I find things I didn’t find before. Like these actual headlines:
- Dentist receives plaque
- Girl becomes Methodist after delicate operation
- Cemetery allows people to be buried by their pets
- Local high school dropouts cut in half
- Father of 9 fined $100 for failing to stop
- Kids make nutritious snacks
- Hospital sued by 7 foot doctors
- Obesity study looks for larger test group
When I was a boy my mother told me numerous times, “Son, you are what you read. So don’t read more than one Archie comic book at a time.”
I don’t get legalistic about this, but I’m learning to start the morning differently. I start with thanksgiving: for a new day, for the strength to open my eyelids, for a dog that has probably pounced on me by now, licking my face and sneezing in my beard. I’m learning that my circle of concern may be as large as the world, but my circle of influence is limited to only a few people. I’m learning to spend my time with the few, modeling compassion and integrity.
Jesus understood this well. Mark 1:35 tells us that “Jesus rose early and went out to a lonely place and there he prayed.” The disciples were surprised that he was gone. They went looking for Him. When they finally found Him, they exclaimed, “Everyone is asking for you.” Though I’m no Greek scholar, I imagine Peter scolded Jesus for turning off His cell phone. “Everyone’s trying to get a hold of you,” he said, wagging his finger. “People back in Nazareth want you to speak at a fundraiser. There are things to do, crowds to impact, people to heal. Didn’t you get the message I left on your answering machine?”
Jesus merely smiled at the disciples. He knew that they would one day understand the stress of public life, and He hoped they would learn to start the day in the very best place, on their knees.
I have a few regrets in life. But never have I regretting a moment I’ve spent reading the Bible. And so I make those the first pages I open each day.
On one of those mornings, I noticed these words a busy King by the name of David wrote a few thousand years ago:
“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8).
The early hours are of particular importance in shaping our day. Morning is a holy time. A chance to start again. A time to expect the best from God. An opportunity to search for and focus on the good news.
Do you start your day with God’s Good News? Learn how to incorporate fifteen minutes of daily discipline to start off your day with God and to deepen your Bible study to become more meaningful.
