In my last column we considered Hebrews 12:1-2, we zoomed in on Hebrews 12:1a, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.”
Under this cloud of witnesses, we consider the example of Noah. Noah faced a lot of opposition from the world from running his race well. The world mocked him, laughed at him, and insulted him, but Noah by the grace of God ran his race faithfully till the end.
Similarly, we will face negative criticism, contempt and scorn from this world, and the world would do the best it could to prevent us from running the race well. This is why we should consider the great cloud of witnesses that ran their race of faith faithfully before us.
In this column let us consider Hebrews 12:1b, “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely.” The second way to run the race well is by laying aside every weight. Please notice in the text, weight and sin are two different things. Yes, we are called to lay aside every weight and sin, but again weight and sin are not the same.
So, what does the author of Hebrews mean when he says weight? He means impediment, hindrance and obstacles. Let me illustrate. You don’t see runners running the race with a suit and a tie. They wear bare minimums. Likewise, the author of the book of Hebrews calls us to lay aside every weight, every obstacle, every hindrance that prevents us from running the race well.
What are some of the weights that we should be laying aside? There are plenty of things to talk about under the category of weight, but let me just address one issue here: news.
Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying watching the news is wrong. I’m saying watching news non-stop 24/7 or reading news feeds on your iPhone every 30 minutes is a problem.
Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Sadly, for the most part news by design tells you the worst thing that is going on in the world. If you observe carefully, news either makes you angry and agitated or it will make you anxious and fearful.
So, Pastor Praveen, how long should I watch the news? Well, it depends upon person to person. The way caffeine affects one person is different from another. Likewise, news consumption depends upon person to person. But if you are always in a state of agitation or anger, if you are always in a state of fear and worry, you are probably watching too much.
Our God is calling us to lay aside every weight that prevents us from running our race of faith well. This includes the weight of watching too much news. Will you obey him?
