Information Assassin
Information Assassin
Never before in the history of mankind have we had so much access to information. Never before have humans known so much. Never before has this mountain of information been so quickly accessible as it is today. When I was a kid doing a research paper, I remember reading through volumes of the encyclopedia, checking out multiple books from the library, and hours of reading for a couple lines in my paper. And now, we walk around with unlimited access to all the information the world has to offer in the palm of our hand - with lightning speed.
But information comes with a catch…
Information can be a silent assassin. It can steal your focus. It can kill your time. It can destroy your perspective and worldview. Information will be your master if you allow it. But it will be your servant if you make it.
Information isn’t all bad. After all, knowledge is power when wielded properly. And with knowledge can come wisdom, and wisdom is possibly more necessary now than ever before.
Knowledge and information have been a quest of numerous cultures and empires throughout history, and many countless college students and professors to this day. It is a noble pursuit, but it can’t be our only pursuit. It can be a wonderful pursuit, but it can’t become our wandering pursuit.
Information can be found anywhere and everywhere, so be careful where you look - you will find what you’re looking for. Information can be found in smear campaigns and is always found in fear tactics, which are seemingly for your benefit.
One of the built-in instincts that human beings have is the fight or flight reaction. In reality, it’s fight, flight, fall, or freeze. We all react to fear in one or more of these ways. Information can force us to react in one of these ways too - if we let it. The silent assassin will assimilate before it will assassinate. Again, seemingly for your benefit.
Information can be a silent assassin because it can immobilize you. Negative information - fear - can make you wonder what’s even the point? Why do anything? Everything is so bad so why do anything at all? Or even worse, make you think you can’t do anything at all. Rendering you absolutely useless and ineffective by your own choice and decision.
Information is a silent assassin because it can incapacitate you. It can shackle your capacity. One definition says, “to deprive of the legal power to act.” If you allow it, information will handcuff you to what you’re “not allowed to do.” But when information tells us or influences us to go against God’s word, there’s a problem.
We don’t gain rights, we have rights.
We don’t gain rights, but we can give up rights.
Information is a silent assassin because it can steal your peace. God is not the author of confusion so when we find information that is confusing, it’s pretty easy to tell that it’s not from God. By the way, confusion and a lack of understanding aren’t necessarily the same thing. And the devil knows that. If we focus too much on the problems of this world, we can begin to lose focus on our Provider and Protector, and that can get us to lose our peace.
Philippians 4:8 says, “whatever is true…honorable… just… pure… lovely… commendable, if there is anything is excellent and worthy of praise, think on these things.” This is a good place to start if you’re looking for a filter through which to view information. If the information we are receiving isn’t one of those, it might be best to reject and not receive. The lens we use to view information may very well determine our perspective of that information.
And when we are giving information, it’s important for us to remember Proverbs 15:7 which says, “the lips of the wise spread knowledge.” They don’t spread information - they spread knowledge. Information can be false, but knowledge is facts. This should be the filter through which our mouth speaks.
We have a tendency of treating God like Google and expecting the answer we want in 0.174626374 seconds. But God makes us work for it. All the answers we need are found in His Word if we’re just willing to take the time to look and think. When someone gives you a problem and expects an answer, and you give them a proverb, they probably won’t look at it like an answer but another problem. Or worse yet, a riddle. In the Information Age we have a tendency to want our answer first and fast. But our answer may not be His answer. And it may not be what’s best. We want information but we don't want to do the work for it.
This is how we gain wisdom - by struggling with the difficult, challenging information that we find in God’s Word. If God spelled everything out for us, there’s no reason for us to have inquiry or intrigue. We wouldn’t have or need to search out the hidden things. There would be no hidden things. If every Bible had a google button, there wouldn’t be a need or point in opening it and reading.
To pursue God is to pursue His Word. To pursue His Word is to pursue and gain His wisdom. To pursue His wisdom is to walk a path that will lead you farther from the world.
Final thought: Information will never, on its own, bring transformation. Information with revelation brings transformation. And revelation can only come through the Holy Spirit.
Information is everywhere. And you will find it. Be careful where you go looking.
Never before in the history of mankind have we had so much access to information. Never before have humans known so much. Never before has this mountain of information been so quickly accessible as it is today. When I was a kid doing a research paper, I remember reading through volumes of the encyclopedia, checking out multiple books from the library, and hours of reading for a couple lines in my paper. And now, we walk around with unlimited access to all the information the world has to offer in the palm of our hand - with lightning speed.
But information comes with a catch…
Information can be a silent assassin. It can steal your focus. It can kill your time. It can destroy your perspective and worldview. Information will be your master if you allow it. But it will be your servant if you make it.
Information isn’t all bad. After all, knowledge is power when wielded properly. And with knowledge can come wisdom, and wisdom is possibly more necessary now than ever before.
Knowledge and information have been a quest of numerous cultures and empires throughout history, and many countless college students and professors to this day. It is a noble pursuit, but it can’t be our only pursuit. It can be a wonderful pursuit, but it can’t become our wandering pursuit.
Information can be found anywhere and everywhere, so be careful where you look - you will find what you’re looking for. Information can be found in smear campaigns and is always found in fear tactics, which are seemingly for your benefit.
One of the built-in instincts that human beings have is the fight or flight reaction. In reality, it’s fight, flight, fall, or freeze. We all react to fear in one or more of these ways. Information can force us to react in one of these ways too - if we let it. The silent assassin will assimilate before it will assassinate. Again, seemingly for your benefit.
Information can be a silent assassin because it can immobilize you. Negative information - fear - can make you wonder what’s even the point? Why do anything? Everything is so bad so why do anything at all? Or even worse, make you think you can’t do anything at all. Rendering you absolutely useless and ineffective by your own choice and decision.
Information is a silent assassin because it can incapacitate you. It can shackle your capacity. One definition says, “to deprive of the legal power to act.” If you allow it, information will handcuff you to what you’re “not allowed to do.” But when information tells us or influences us to go against God’s word, there’s a problem.
We don’t gain rights, we have rights.
We don’t gain rights, but we can give up rights.
Information is a silent assassin because it can steal your peace. God is not the author of confusion so when we find information that is confusing, it’s pretty easy to tell that it’s not from God. By the way, confusion and a lack of understanding aren’t necessarily the same thing. And the devil knows that. If we focus too much on the problems of this world, we can begin to lose focus on our Provider and Protector, and that can get us to lose our peace.
Philippians 4:8 says, “whatever is true…honorable… just… pure… lovely… commendable, if there is anything is excellent and worthy of praise, think on these things.” This is a good place to start if you’re looking for a filter through which to view information. If the information we are receiving isn’t one of those, it might be best to reject and not receive. The lens we use to view information may very well determine our perspective of that information.
And when we are giving information, it’s important for us to remember Proverbs 15:7 which says, “the lips of the wise spread knowledge.” They don’t spread information - they spread knowledge. Information can be false, but knowledge is facts. This should be the filter through which our mouth speaks.
We have a tendency of treating God like Google and expecting the answer we want in 0.174626374 seconds. But God makes us work for it. All the answers we need are found in His Word if we’re just willing to take the time to look and think. When someone gives you a problem and expects an answer, and you give them a proverb, they probably won’t look at it like an answer but another problem. Or worse yet, a riddle. In the Information Age we have a tendency to want our answer first and fast. But our answer may not be His answer. And it may not be what’s best. We want information but we don't want to do the work for it.
This is how we gain wisdom - by struggling with the difficult, challenging information that we find in God’s Word. If God spelled everything out for us, there’s no reason for us to have inquiry or intrigue. We wouldn’t have or need to search out the hidden things. There would be no hidden things. If every Bible had a google button, there wouldn’t be a need or point in opening it and reading.
To pursue God is to pursue His Word. To pursue His Word is to pursue and gain His wisdom. To pursue His wisdom is to walk a path that will lead you farther from the world.
Final thought: Information will never, on its own, bring transformation. Information with revelation brings transformation. And revelation can only come through the Holy Spirit.
Information is everywhere. And you will find it. Be careful where you go looking.
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