Enjoying Bad Stuff

Are you obsessed with gossip? Most people will say "no" to that question. A few know that they have this obsession, but only a few. Interestingly, there is a way that some people are obsessed with gossip and it is disguised as something else. Many today seek to know the latest tidbit that comes from Rome, or a story about a bad clergyman, or another attack on a traditional aspect of our faith. They actually spend time seeking for these types of stories and relish finding them! People with this obsession thrive on "bad news" and long for it as though it was good for their spiritual health (and we all know it is not).

Do you ever find yourself "enjoying" bad news? When something troubling happens, do yoitu fall into the victim mentality that is so prevalent today? ("See they're attacking them, and I'm like them, so I'm a victim too!") This is where someone actually likes being the victim of haters. They want others to feel sorry for them, so they look for persecution (but only the persecution that they approve of!). Those who suffer from this spiritual malady actually get sad when there is nothing bad happening.

We are supposed to be driven by joy. Our God calls us to have faith, and hope, and charity, but not to find pleasure in evil. We need to learn once again what it is to seek the good. If you know that you have this weakness and are finding yourself seeking the "gossip" of misery and sadness, then beg God for strength to change your heart. It may be time to tell yourself, "I don't need that", and cut off the source of that "bad news gossip". Yes, there is persecution out there, and if we hear about it then it should drive us to pray for our brethren to endure and for their persecutors to repent. But do not, however, go looking for it. There is never true joy in finding evil.