When you know too much

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Sometimes experts complain about knowing too much about their field of expertise when it becomes a burden. I've heard preachers complain that they have trouble listening to a sermon without analyzing how they might have done it differently. When medical professionals hear conversations among friends or family, they can't help but come up with a diagnosis and wonder about a treatment plan. It can become overwhelming. 

The sort of "knowing too much" I'm referring to here, though, is a little different, but can also be overwhelming. Imagine, if you will, living on this island near Texas many years ago, and waiting for a weekly paper to arrive to find out some news from the rest of the world. Can we imagine further back? What if you learned a big weather event had happened only when you and your tribe traveled to trade with a neighboring tribe after a few days' journey on foot. We can only try to imagine what that might have been like because today we have this constant flow of information from around the world. I'm not really sure having access to so much information is healthy. I think we know too much. It can become overwhelming, leaving us frustrated, feeling isolated, and powerless. 


I'm not advocating for putting our heads in the sand to shut everything out, but I do think an occasional fast from all media is good medicine. It frees up space for your thoughts to organize, allows you to notice things and people around you, and most importantly, it opens your heart to hear what God may be calling you to do. The Desert Ammas and Abbas (early monastics who lived mostly isolated) write about reading nature as reading scripture. Sure, they had the Bible memorized, but would also open their hearts to listen to God speaking to them through God's creation. I think most outdoors people have experienced that sort of stillness with God while fishing, hunting, or watching for surf. 

When we are so focused on listening to the opinions of others on matters far beyond our control, we might forget that the biggest influence we have is sitting nearby. Loving one another, as Jesus commanded us to do, and responding to the needs of people we actually know makes a more profound difference than any digital interaction we might have. We tend to find out what we need to know through our relationships anyway. The wonderful thing is we have within our power the ability to decide how we spend our time. Those little screens and the algorithms behind them are designed to draw us in and keep us watching; they want our time. Take a break. Go outside or throw a party. Spend a week without social media, and let me know how God surprises you. 


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