Breaking the Happy News
To some extent, there's nothing more that I'll need to tell you about the subject that the web address, HappyNews.com doesn't say.
If you think you'd prefer your newspapers or news sites without those stories on death, terror and corruption that might put a damper on your day, HappyNews is for you. Or, as their title tagline puts it: “All The News That's Fun To Print”.
Their “credo”, available on their front page, goes further: “‘Real News, Compelling Stories, Always Positive’ is what you'll find on HappyNews.com. We believe virtue, goodwill and heroism are hot news. That's why we bring you up-to-the-minute news, geared to lift spirits and inspire lives.”
The site itself shows examples that they're not taking themselves too seriously. Their stocks summary box carries this warning, “Unhappy News Alert! Click at your own risk”. The horoscope for Jan 31 said, “Good news! The stars do not control your destiny. You do”. In my favourite touch, the site lists links to more established news outlets like CNN and BBC under the capitalized heading, “Unhappy News”.
But despite those tongue-in-cheek touches, a visit had me thinking that they might have a point. Some sample headlines on the day I visited read, “Connecticut to launch eHealth program”, “Congo president holds first peace meeting”, “New Year brings new homes to families in Sri Lanka”. All are worthwhile news stories about events that we should be thankful for.
A look at CNN on the same day lists none of the above, those stories presumably buried by issues such as the upcoming State of the Union address, the difficult political situation in Iran, a workplace shooting, and a nightclub fire.
However there's something that makes me uneasy with the idea that someone might choose to only read the Happy News site. It's not that anything in their intent or purpose is erroneous, but the error they make (purposefully, they would probably argue) is the error of omission. And it's an error that is a good warning to what we do in church and how we live as Christians.
Are we as God's people, too focussed on the kingdom of darkness that the world still lives in, to be able to focus on the salvation at hand? Or are we the other way round, too focussed on the salvation that we have now, to realize our continued sinfulness, and to examine the ways we rebel against God in our own lives?
In the same way that always wearing rose-coloured glasses will lead to accidents at traffic lights, we must try not to go through life unbalanced, remembering there is no salvation, without a peril to be saved from. So I'll be thankful that I stumbled upon happynews.com for pointing out this imbalance in my outlook on current affairs and spiritual affairs, but I'll be much more thankful of The Good News that changed my life.