Is Your Selfie Trending Today?

I have been a faithful morning news watcher ever since I have been married. I like to get up in the morning, have my coffee, Quiet Time, and then turn on the news. After I spend time with the Lord, and coffee, I would like to know what is happening in the morning. I appreciate knowing what has happened in our world and being a well informed person. However, I have noticed how the news has moved away from verifiable real news, and toward coverage of the Twitterscape, covering trends, and pop news, and not covering the true news stories of the world that have happened overnight. I noticed on the 'Today Show' they even have a segment and a full room called the Orange Room.

It is set up in their studio to monitor what is "trending today". I am so excited that they have this new room so that I do not miss a tweet, or a tidbit of juicy celebrity gossip, or God forbid any pop news that I absolutely cannot live without. I'm going to call this the 'devolution of news'. Of course we Americans know there is nothing else happening in the world but our nationalistic narcissistic edifices such as Facebook, Twitter, Hollywood, and the like. This nationalistic devolution of our news is just a reflection of the 'culture of me'. Jesus directly attacked that 'culture of me' in his definitive discipleship statement when he said,"if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." The call to discipleship is a call to freely chosen, self sacrificing, service, and death. Sorry but I am afraid that lifestyle is not going to trend very well on Twitter! When we live in this counter-cultural manner we will stick out. We will have that draw, that attraction, that the empty 'culture of me' cannot understand, but will be drawn to when the emptiness of that way of life comes to fruition. Will the Church of Christ flea from the 'culture of me'? Will we seek to glorify Jesus or self? Will we take up our cross by seeking to serve Jesus, and his saints all over the world not just in our own little myopic culture? For instance I was reading the magazine The Voice of the Martyrs today and found out how myopic we might be.  Richard Wumbrand the founder of the a fore mentioned organization said in The Wurmbrand Letters "I am attending now so often church services in America, and I have the constant impulse when the pastor gives the benediction at the end to shout to him, 'But pastor, you have not yet had the religious service.' Every religious service at which the martyrs are not even mentioned, in which a prayer is not offered that God will strengthen their faith, is a divine service which is not valid before God." Maybe Wurmbrand was on to something. What do we set our eyes on? Our super cool selfie? Or rather do we as the writer of Hebrews says, "fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith." I'm Just sayin'