There’s a lot that’s wrong with the world. The swirl of news and torrent of information available at my fingertips flood my ability to process it all. With unfettered access to the internet, I am constantly confronted with issues I can hardly understand, much less solve. Rarely can I solve 10% of my own problems half the time. The onslaught bears down and batters my fragile soul and shatters my fervent joy. I’m swamped by issues, problems, and circumstances beyond my capacity and comprehension.
I don’t say this as an excuse to bury my head. At the same time, it would be naive to presume I could assimilate the information and assume control. The issue in today’s world is that I must know each issue and port a decided opinion on each. As a result, I have to stay glued to the never-ending stream of information lest I miss one crucial detail. Then I’d just be an ignoramus.
But the farce of this all can easily be seen.
While we feel we’re trapped by the winds and whims of the latest cycle, if we simply reach out and turn off the faucet, we find the self-defeating deluge was self-inflicted and self-infecting. It wasn’t a rainstorm at all. It was a boisterous, isolated shower imposed by people and organizations not seeking rain, but reconditioning. Fearsome though it may be, it’s noise.
Is information important? Is knowledge needed?
The question is not whether—but how much?
At what point do I turn off the spigot? If I fail to disengage, the flotsam rushes and gushes forward and pushes me under, wave after suffocating wave.
And I can’t catch my breath. I can’t keep up.
Information is the commodity that drives our economy. Its ingress will only increase. The dilemma is the egress. God did not design us to carry the weight we’re confronted with.
It’s a failure not of intake, but of release—not regression, but explosion.
Look at the exponential incursion of depression, anger, and unrest. We know too much. We hold too much. We’re outraged at everything.
The greatest relief from this diluvial destruction is that our hand controls the flow. Because while there are real problems that warrant deep thought, our intake exceeds our capacity. Yes, there are wars, rumors of wars, and rumors of rumors. The scandals will not stop. The corruption will only increase.
It’s not an unending storm. It’s a passing shower. And the control is in your hand.