Access Changes Everything
By Jessica Brodie
Journalists often have a bad reputation—muckrakers who stir up the mud just to create controversy, fake-news sensationalists who use drama to make money or steer some political agenda. But to me, those aren’t real journalists.
As a journalist with a degree in the field and who has made my living in this line of work since my twenties, I see our work as shining light into society, sharing stories so corruption is exposed and good prevails and, ultimately, helping transparency obliterate the darkness. When we as a society know the truth, we are empowered to do the right thing and make the right choices.
Today, I’m a Christian journalist—not only a journalist who is a follower of Christ but also one who runs a Christian newspaper that helps share important news about faith. But even in the church, bad things happen. We live in a fallen world. So we share stories, good and bad, so that God’s light is able to permeate the wrong and make all things right through his people.
We’re agents of light, God’s peaceful soldiers in the world who help his kingdom come, here on earth as it is in heaven. The apostle Paul called us “ambassadors of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
But how can we effectively do what’s right if we don’t know what is truth?
Just before Christmas, my family spent five days in Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital, touring museums, monuments, and sites and trying to understand a little more about what makes our country tick in the places where the fundamentals of democracy are supposed to occur. One of the places we visited was the Library of Congress, which has on display a massive Gutenberg Bible behind a glass case.
The Gutenberg Bible is the first major book printed in Europe using mass-produced metal movable type. Invented by Johann Gutenberg (1400-1468), the mechanical printing press made it possible for the mass production of books like the Bible and, thus, made it possible for all people everywhere to have access to knowledge. This spread of knowledge, discoveries, and literacy in Renaissance Europe also helped prompt the Protestant Reformation.
Think about it—before the invention of the press, most people couldn’t read. Books had to be reproduced by hand, and they were rare. Newspapers didn’t exist. People learned the news because of what town criers were instructed to share on behalf of their rulers.
They also learned what was in the Bible solely because of what church leaders shared with them.
And, sadly, we know not every clergyperson is good. Over the years, some have been corrupt.
Imagine the vast control the church had over the people—people who wouldn’t know otherwise because they couldn’t read. They couldn’t open the Bible for themselves and see God’s truth written down for all to see.
Gutenberg’s invention made it possible for regular people like us to have the truth in their hands for themselves. It was a huge step forward in intellectual freedom and spiritual advancement.
That’s part of why I became a daily Bible reader—because I realized one day that unless I read the Bible for myself, I was relying on someone else to filter the Lord into my heart, mind, and soul. And while I trusted my pastors and other spiritual leaders, I wanted to know God’s word for myself, intimately.
It started as a challenge during Lent, the 40 days before Easter, and evolved into a lifelong practice, one that has become a special and beautiful part of my daily routine. It wasn’t easy or, frankly, enjoyable at first. Some days I didn’t understand what I read, or my mind wandered. But over time, I came to love it. On the rare day I skip my reading, I genuinely miss it. The day feels “off” somehow.
And all of this is because someone invented a way to mechanically reproduce text on a page. Today I have hundreds of books on my shelves. Of course, I also have books onscreen—another amazing invention!
Knowledge and access change everything. When we have access to truth, access to information, we can take a stand for Good, a stand for God.
This week, consider how you can use what you know to make this world better in some way. How can you be an ambassador of the Lord through God’s holy word, the Bible?
A prayer: Lord, thank you so much for giving us your word so we can know your truth, your commandments, and who you are. Thank you for loving us so much that you gave us this, and you gave us your son, so that all who believe may be saved. Amen.
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THANKS TO MY SPONSORS: MATT BRODIE, EMILY DODD, KATHLEEN PATELLA, BILLY ROBINSON, YANCY ROSE, AND LANNY TURNER.
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