It’s been a difficult month [September 2025]. We’ve witnessed multiple tragedies. No doubt Charlie Kirk’s killing has been on the forefront of our minds. How can it not be? The public nature of his murder was visually disturbing.

But that’s not all that happened this month. The same day that Kirk was killed, a student at Evergreen High School shot two of his classmates and then killed himself. This all occurred just a week after the country was reeling from the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. Although she was killed in August, media attention spiked the week before Kirk’s death due to graphic video footage of her stabbing appearing online and in the news. These tragic stories even overshadowed the next day’s memorial of September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack that impacted the world.

WE WEREN’T MADE FOR THIS

Anyone watching the news or social media has been served a barrage of visual carnage. Although these tragedies happened in different parts of the country (to say nothing of tragedies occurring elsewhere in the world), they have been funneled directly to us. We’ve seen the videos. We’ve witnessed the tragedies. We’ve heard the cries of sorrow.

That’s a lot to take in. Indeed, it’s too much. It’s only because of media technology (news, radio, and the internet) that we’re able to witness all these horrific events.

It hasn’t always been this way. Up until the last few seconds of human history, we never were burdened with tragedies near and far. We haven’t been saddled with the sorrow of every victim and their families. But now we are. Perhaps, it wasn’t meant to be this way.

Listen to what a Texas pastor said about witnessing numerous tragic events:

Could it be that God didn’t wire us to carry every event, taking place in every part of the world, at every moment, as if it were ours? Could it be that technology has produced a faux omniscience and omnipresence that is hurting mankind and not helping it?

TWO PROBLEMS THAT HURT OUR SOULS

This is an insightful assessment. The news and social media have given us ringside seats to every event, tragedy, and evil act that happens in any part of the planet. Even if we’re just paying attention to national news, that’s still an overwhelming amount of tragedy. It’s not something we’re created to handle. It’s made possible, though, because of television and the internet. Though technology often helps us, it also creates two problems that hurt our soul: faux omnipresence and faux omniscience.

Throughout human history, we’ve only had to carry events that directly affect us, our family/friends, and our local community. That typically limits the number of tragedies we’d experience in any given time period. Today, with the internet and social media, we can witness every evil event. If we miss it, a recording is readily replayed online. The carnage is funneled through our eyes and embedded in our soul. What we witness can be in the next town, the next state, or on the other side of the planet. No matter where it happens, we see it. It’s like we’re everywhere.

But it’s a faux omnipresence. We’re not actually there, but we’re made to experience these events like we were. We soak them in and feel the pain that others feel, albeit to a lesser degree. We scroll through our news feed and witness another tragedy. Then another. In a matter of minutes, we’ve watched multiple evil events. It’s overwhelming.

GOD HAS THE BANDWIDTH; WE DON’T

God, who is omnipresent can handle all that evil, pain, and tragedy. He’s capable. He has the emotional and psychological bandwidth to witness his creation repeatedly commit evil and not become overwhelmed. Finite humans, though, are not God. We don’t have the capacity to handle inordinate amounts of evil. This faux omnipresence hurts us.

Our faux omnipresence leads to a faux omniscience. We think we’re present at these tragedies, so we’re tricked into thinking we understand what happened. We saw it online, after all. It was in high definition. Because we “witness” these events, we’re expected to know the truth about what happened, make an immediate evaluation, and then say the right thing about it. Finite humans aren’t perfectly accurate, though. Even still, we comment, post, and emote. We argue and then divide. Our online debating adds another layer of stress. All this happens after a single tragedy. There’s more, though. Another horrific event is around the corner. We repeat the cycle and the stress builds. This faux omniscience hurts us, as well.

SPURGEON’S ADVICE

I appreciate Charles Spurgeon’s similar concern, when he addressed pastors in training. Recognizing their potential to take on overwhelming burdens, he warned them of making this mistake.

Many servants of God are made to feel their weakness in another way, by an oppressive sense of responsibility…. Do not take an exaggerated view of what the Lord expects of you. He will not blame you for not doing that which is beyond your mental power or physical strength…. We are not the Father, nor the Saviour, nor the Comforter of the Church. We cannot take the responsibility of the universe upon our shoulders. [Emphasis in original.]

There’s only so much one person can take, says Spurgeon. Plus, to presume you can handle all the world’s hurt is to take on an exaggerated view of yourself. God is the only one capable of carrying that weight.

Though online technology can hurt us, I’m not a Luddite. I don’t doubt that scientific advancements have helped us communicate, protect people, care for vulnerable people, and do many other good things.

Progress, though, often comes with a price. Though Inherit the Wind is a disastrous retelling of the “Scopes Monkey Trial” of 1925, I resonate with one of Henry Drummond’s speeches in the movie.

Progress has never been a bargain. You have to pay for it. Sometimes I think there's a man who sits behind a counter and says, “All right, you can have a telephone, but you lose privacy and the charm of distance. Madam, you may vote but at a price. You lose the right to retreat behind the powder puff or your petticoat. Mister, you may conquer the air, but the birds will lose their wonder and the clouds will smell of gasoline.”

It's hard to imagine the wonder of flight that birds effortlessly enjoy. Why? We’ve all grown up in a world with planes. We sip sodas in leather seats, 38,000 feet in the air, while cities zip by at 600 mph. A bird is no big deal. We fly faster and higher. We’ve lost our wonder.

Technology that makes the internet and social media possible might move us forward in some ways, but we pay for it in other ways. We experience a faux omnipresence and faux omniscience, causing us to carry all the hurts of the world. “Could it be that God didn’t wire us to carry every event…as if it were ours?”

Naysayers might object: “We need to know what’s happening around the world, to stay abreast of current affairs. We must learn from our collective experience.” While I agree it’s important to learn from tragic events that occur outside our immediate community, we can become overwhelmed by the barrage of negative news. We’re not created to soak in every tragedy as if it were ours. “Progress,” like Drummond says, “has never been a bargain. You have to pay for it.” It takes a toll on our souls.

5 WAYS TO HELP YOU COPE

Perhaps, then, we should take better care of ourselves. Here are five quick suggestions.

  • First, unplug from the news, internet and/or social media. This is mandatory. Set up times when you walk away without sneaking peeks.
  • Second, when you have a choice, avoid watching graphic videos that are shared online. You can’t unsee them and, in most cases, there’s no benefit. Indeed, they’re corrosive to your soul.
  • Third, spend time in nature. For example, take a hike through the woods (or just walk outside) and observe the simplicity and beauty of God’s creation. I love to notice delicate flowers or watch the gentle dance of birds in the trees. It helps me escape—for a time—the harsh reality I must eventually return to.
  • Fourth, pray and discern when and where you can shoulder other people’s burdens, and find friends who can help carry yours. This is a biblical mandate (Gal. 6:2).
  • Finally, develop a habit of giving thanks to Jesus, the one who took on our burdens. Without him, we’d be in bigger trouble and hurting even more. He encourages us to come to him and promises, “You will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:29–30).

Article by Alan Shlemon of Stand to Reason