“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'” Mark 16:15

“Oh no,” I thought! “I must warn my daughter!” That was the immediate reaction when I saw the story on my phone last night of not one, but TWO shark attacks at New Smyrna Beach, Florida this last week. My daughter and her family, with 3 little grandkids, live there and go to that beach regularly. As I thought about warning her, a BIGGER concern swept across my brain. So I didn’t!

The news feed on my phone gives me just enough info to keep me ‘kind-of’ in the know. At the bottom of the page to this shark-bite story, I saw ANOTHER picture with the headline, “Bison Pins Man To The Ground In Yellowstone National Park!” It made me think… about news, information and sharing! Isn’t it funny that my attention was drawn more toward attacks from wildlife than politics!?

Having been a Florida guy most of my life, I’ve been to the beach HUNDREDS of times! I’ve never been bitten by a shark. I don’t know anyone who has, either! I’ve come within 6’ of a shark while scuba diving, just waved hi, and got no bite. Having never been to Yellowstone, My daughter and her family have, and they came home ‘unpinned by a Bison.’ But yesterday’s story was… interesting!

Bad news travels fast! It seems the more sensational the story the faster it travels. Pictures give stories life, and get the victims… empathy. But I did NOT want to scare my daughter. To do so would keep her kids out of the ocean FOREVER! Not wanting to promote fear, I said nothing. I don’t need to warn because my son in law is VERY smart! He’s been surfing those waters all his life! He knows!

Today I find that sensational news sharing is done to make profit. The shark story said “more shark attacks happen when more people are in the water!” DUH! The Bison pin was due to a dude wanting to get up, too close, for a sensational picture! We can FEEL the teeth and horns… and we squirm! Now my thoughts. How involved am I in spreading the worst, and best, news in the world?

My daughter is too busy with kids to read these words. And while Charles is the one who posts them online, he’s smart enough to not pass on ‘ridiculous fear’ as ‘important information.’ But there IS REAL IMPORTANT information that NEEDS to be passed on. And Jesus HAS given us the command in today’s Bible verse. Are YOU involved in promoting His-Story of guaranteed rescue from death?

When it comes to sharing the Gospel… it’s O.K. to be sensational at it!