“For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” [Ecclesiastes 18:1 NIV]
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When I read this verse the other day, it made me think. Does our ability to access information from all over the world contribute to the rising rates of depression?
Think about it. Our children worry about the number of people dying in a natural disaster on the other side of the world. The worst of our society is splashed across TV screens in the nightly news. Is there any wonder our sense of hopelessness grows with every passing year?
If we lived two centuries ago, when there were no phones, no mass media, no planes or fast transport, all we would be concerned with is our immediate community for the most part. Sure, fragments of world news might filter through with newspapers and telegrams, but mostly we would live in blissful ignorance of the depravity and tragedy that exists in some places.
And how does all this knowledge benefit us? Perhaps we can give money to support a country devastated by flood or even go there and give aid. Perhaps we can fight some of the atrocities wrought be evil men. On the whole, though, doesn’t it just add to sadness and stress?
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If we go back to the Garden of Eden — God’s one instruction to Adam and Eve was for them NOT to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We were never meant to know that evil existed. God never wanted us to be hurt by such knowledge. He wanted us to remain innocent.
Whether there is much we can do about this information overload, save removing TVs and internet from our homes, I don’t know, but it is certainly something to think about. Don’t you agree?
Romancing The Rock 
I do agree. Sometimes with all this info I wonder if we have enough time or brain space to absorb it properly. When I think of great explorers like Cap. James Cook or Matthew Flinders and the knowledge they had, the clever things they learnt at a young age… with the technology and information (ie lack of internet!) they had at the time… amazing. We might know lots of things, but are we doing anything intelligent with that information? Good post, Amanda. 🙂
Hi Amanda,
I’ve been a victim of the sort of info overload you’re talking about. I find it easy to bear the heaviness of all that we hear from the media in my spirit if I’m not careful. Once, I was with my family at a little ghost town at the foot at the Yorke Peninsula in which their link to the outside world was once about every four months when the postal cart arrived. Although having the world’s news at our fingertips has its benefits, I love the reminder you’ve given that innocence was what God intended for us, to save us from spiritual burn-out such as I’ve suffered in the past.
I know what you mean Paula. I was in the outback once – no media for days, just worship music. When I first heard some ‘outside’ music, I wanted to cringe and run away with my hands over my ears. It is certainly nice to be free of it for a while. 🙂
This is what I struggled with a few weeks ago and wrote about at Ink Dots. There’s a flood of stuff we deal with each day and I’m not sure we’re doing ourselves any favours. I’ve stopped watching TV but I get the latest news on FB, along with the opinions of those who share the news. And that’s just the start… Overload can only happen for so long before something snaps. Our kids will have lots to carry at the rate we’re going as a society, unless they learn to filter VERY WELL. Thank God we can bring our thoughts to Him.
xx
True, Dorothy. And the overload also has another affect on us and our kids. We/they become numb to some of the atrocities we/they see, when in fact, it should stir our/their hearts with compassion and drive us/them to prayer.