I have fond memories from my childhood of riding in my parent’s Oldsmobile station wagon and listening to Paul Harvey.  Almost everyone my age and older seems to have memories of Paul Harvey.  His voice and delivery were just part of the story.  It was his attention to detail and methodical research that made the rest of the story.

Paul Harvey courtesy Time Magazine

Over the weekend I found myself thinking, “What would Paul Harvey say about our news coverage today?”  Social media and 24-hour news channels have caused reporting to often become frantic, chaotic and often erroneous.  Last night I saw a montage of miscues and careless reporting by one of the major news networks during the Boston tragedy.  And of course there was the major newspaper that ran a photo on the front cover of the wrong suspects in the bombing.  No care, minimal research, and no apologies for getting things wrong.  I don’t think Paul Harvey would want to be associated with this brand of news coverage.

The same problems can plague us in our day to day lives as well.  We snap to judgments about people based on hearsay, gossip and false perceptions.  Many times we must remember to look for the rest of the story when we are dealing with people. These days there are a lot of people who are dealing with amazing stress in life.  We can slow down, sit down and share some love through conversation and listening.  We may not have answers or any words of wisdom, but often just having someone’s full attention can help to ease stress, worry and fear.

I’ve been learning this lesson in parenting and am trying to apply it in my marriage, ministry and other relationships.  Our children don’t always do the things we want them to do, but many times there is a reason for this.  Instead of rushing to correct, punish or scold I have been trying to pause for a second to think about why this child is acting this way.  Factors like being tired or hungry don’t excuse bad choices but should play a role in the decisions I make in correcting behavior.  The same is true of the conversations we have with our spouse, or the responsibilities we have around the home or in our dealing with co-workers.  Understanding the cause can better tell us the rest of the story for why things have happened or aren’t happening.

Everyone deserves a chance to let their actions, words and deeds prove who they truly are.  Our lifestyle and society might have us living so fast that we are unable to perceive what the real story is as we are trying to keep things going at work, home and everywhere else.  Slow down a bit and take time to listen and think before you react.

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The same misconceptions can be true about the Bible as well.  There are lots of Bible stories that we only know from our days in children’s Bible class, but there is more to the story than can be told in a kids Bible class.  Today’s time of family worship is a great example.  In Genesis 22 we find the story of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac.  This is one of the stories that we might think we know, but do you know the rest of the story? >>> Week 17 – Faith of Abraham – Part 14

A quick reminder…  Have you entered my giveaway?  DadisLearning.com is giving away a brand new Eureka AirSpeed One this Friday, or if you prefer a $50 Amazon gift card.  You can register to win in about one minute by viewing this post from Friday.

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