Ideas have Consequences

Recently I’ve been working on a programme about big ideas. It is always interesting, but last week I realised what a responsibility it is. We were looking at the ring-fencing of the foreign aid budget, and asking bigger questions about aid in general, whether it is working, whether it is worthwhile and about our collective responsibility to others around the world . You may have noticed a bit of a backlash recently against the whole concept of foreign aid, which for our purposes meant there was a lively discussion to be had.

I was happily lining up our guests from different perspectives, finding the most interesting and provoking voices when I spoke to someone who made me stop in my tracks. She pointed out that the people who are claiming that aid is a bad idea are the left field voices; they have the new and sexy ideas because the ‘establishment’ is convinced that aid does a lot of good. It wasn’t that she didn’t want these ideas to be heard, but she warned that “there are consequences in giving lots of publicity to ‘sexy’ ideas. In this case, if public opinion changes, people could die”.

Wherever you stand on that particular debate, and whatever you think about journalistic balance and the possibility of objectivity, I think we can all agree with the theologian George Weigel, who said:

“Ideas have consequences and bad ideas can have lethal consequences."

As people who work with and around stories, who have ‘audiences’, no matter how small, we need to be very aware of the ideas we communicate through our words, images and pixels. Matthew 12:37 says “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Similarly, Timothy was told to watch his doctrine (ideas) closely.

As we tell stories in all their different forms, seeking out new angles and catchy hooks, let’s remember that we are part of an industry that drives the way that people think. There are ideas implicit in everything we make, and these ideas shape the worldview of our audiences, whether they are watchers of BBC1 or a Sunday school group. It is never our job to censor or distort, but we should be serious about the power that we wield, and commit every story and idea to God.

If this all sounds a heavy responsibility, it is- but we also need to remember that we have the best, most powerful idea ever in our hands- and that the consequences of that idea, well told, are always good.

Elizabeth Hunter

Image by Kipp Baker