“More Is Not Always Better”

I think one of the traps of today’s information age is that we try to understand more information than we can handle. I can google something and a ton of information washes over me in seconds; I read it over in the next few minutes and actually think I know something about the topic. I may know a lot of facts, but I usually don’t understand it very well. 

Sometimes I wonder if I understood more before the “the Internet Age”. When in college, I wrote a paper on “transition metal borohydrides”. (yawn.. yawn…yawn”) My research unearthed about 3 or 4 books, with only one giving me much information. While admittedly I could have visited other libraries, I dug in on the few sources I had on the topic. I read and reread the information, trying to put my paper together. I actually learned enough to write a decent paper. 

Well, I just googled this topic and found hundreds of articles. With those additional sources I could have written a more “intricate and complex and bewildering” paper. Yet, I don’t think I would have understood the topic any better. It was just too much information to absorb. This process can lead to “intellectual gluttony”… I just thought of that phrase …. “more information than you can digest, or need, or is useful”. 

So, what’s the point of this BLOG? Well, the point is that in addition to “intellectual gluttony”, we can commit “spiritual gluttony” ….. “looking for more spiritual information than we can digest or that we need or is useful”.  

When we’re reading the scripture or the writings of a great saint that touches our soul… that makes us pause and wonder…. Let’s not run off to the next great thing. Let’s pause and allow the Holy Spirit to help us absorb and understand what the Lord wants to tell us. It may be just a word or a sentence. The Lord can transform our life with just one thought. We often don’t need to read another sentence or another book or listen to another podcast….. we need to pause and allow the Lord to nourish our soul at that moment. It’s true. Let’s just allow the Holy Spirit to direct us. More is not always better. 

But, let’s end with one thought that’s always important to hear…” No one who believes in him (Jesus Christ) will be put to shame”. (Romans 10:11) And that is very good news.