Behind The Times

Kari Travis | Managing Editor

I get it. No really, I do. I get that the typical world news article isn't all that exciting. Believe me, I did my homework. When I started writing for The Echo this year, I knew what I was up against.

It's been as daunting for me as it undoubtedly has been for you.

The biggest challenge I faced was how to write about worldwide conflict every week in a way that made it matter. The execution wasn't easy.

After a great deal of thought, this column was one of the solutions I came up with. The goal was to breakdown mind-boggling issues, make sense of constant world confusion and bring a little snark and spark to the topics.

Did I succeed? I don't know. Did I try? You bet I did.

The process has been educating. Throughout this semester, we've faced off on more than a dozen tough issues. We've delved into the Greek financial crisis. We've learned about the Syrian/ Russian relationship. We've examined North Korea's past, present and future. But we still haven't officially asked the biggest, and perhaps most important, analytical question.

Why do we (or don't we) care?

Yes. I just went there.

I can't begin to tell you how many times people have told me they don't care about world news or world issues. On the other hand, I've also been approached by dozens of people who want to connect to an understanding of the world, but who just don't know how to do so.

Frankly, I understand how they feel.

World politics, on a surface level, is hard to care about. Leaders like Vladimir Putin are corrupt. Countries like North Korea seem far removed. And the political inner workings of the Muslim Brotherhood are difficult to untangle.

But should that keep us from trying to grasp these things?

All semester long, I have intentionally removed my first person perspective from this column. I didn't want to sound biased. I didn't want to come across as preachy.

I didn't want to put myself too close to the issues.

At long last it's time for me to break my own rules. So I'm going to ask the questions that are plaguing me during this month of Christmas tidings and good cheer.

Why do we sing about peace on earth at Christmas time if we have no intention of reaching out to understand the world that God created? How do we begin to comprehend the meaning of Christmas if we don't have the same kind of love for the world that the Bible talks about?

What do we really mean when we proclaim "joy to the world?"

I'm not trying to be confrontational . . .well, okay. Maybe I am. But I am confronting myself just as much as I am anyone else.

When it comes right down to the issue, we can't call ourselves servants of God if we are not servants in this world. Perhaps there is no better time than this Christmas to remember that "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son."

I don't know about you, but those words mess with my human comprehension. I'm still trying to figure out how to love the world. Trust me. It's not easy for me to wake up in the morning and decide I want to spend my day researching Syrian genocide. It's not comfortable for me when I learn about persecution, human rights abuses and poverty.

Why? Because it's even harder for me to want to get up and go do something to change these things.

Ouch. Yup. That confession hurts.

But maybe, just maybe, that's what I'm supposed to carry away from this series of intense searches within the realm of current events.

Because if I hurt for the world that God created and sent his son to save, if I seek to understand the issues that complicate affairs around the globe, I might learn to love and care for the world in a way that reflects God.

And that, my friends, is what I hope you take away as well. If you do, then I will be able to consider this column a success.