NEWS

The news of the world is of famine and war,
Violence and tragedy and strife,
News of finances lost or gained,
Of disaster and loss of life;
It's news of corruption, murder and greed,
Of vice in high places and low;
Of destruction by storms, earthquakes and volcanoes,
By fire, by flood or by snow.
'Tis of car accidents, ship wrecks, plane crashes, the like,
Things that are terribly grim;
It seems that what most of us want most to hear
Is of sickness and ruin and pain.
The news media thrive on sexual perversion,
Tragedy, disaster and rape,
And reporters professional, yes, and amateur, too,
Record it all on video tape.
Even most conversation seems centered around
Money, taxation and debt;
And the talk among neighbours, more often than not,
Is of sickness and accident and death.
Even those who are Christian, or who claim to be such,
Get caught up in the very same thing,
Though the topic they should be talking about
Is the fact that they belong to the King.
For the only "Good News" in this wicked old world
Is the news of salvation through Christ,
God's own precious Son who died on the cross
That those who believe should have life.
Yes, the "news" that is borne by the servants of God
Is the "good news" of salvation from sin;
Of Jesus, God's Son, who redeemed us from loss
That we might the great victory win.
We, of all people, should be happy and glad,
For the News we have heard and believed
Is the Good News of the Saviour, Jesus the Christ,
Whom we, through faith, have received.
No cause do we have to be sad or forlorn,
Downcast or down-trodden, distressed,
For we, of all people, believers in Jesus,
Have been wonderfully, marvellously blessed.
Ah, the news of the world is the news of the devil,
That of a world that's depraved:
Good news?  Yes, we have it, and have been charged to proclaim it,
That all they that hear might be saved.

a. franklin staples

December 31, 1994-January 1, 1995 Copyright © 1995 by A. Franklin Staples