Information Overload: Navigating the Impact on Your Mind

“ Do not deceive yourself that seemingly innocuous bits of information you keep receiving will not have an effect on you. Your mind will definitely retain information whether good or bad and ultimately produce it at a given time" Justice Kojo Bentil

“ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil; for of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45

What’s on the inside? What do we feed ourselves daily. Is it things of God or otherwise? Today, we are inundated with information. At all times, there is something sensory happening, something requiring our mind to “focus over here, look at this, listen to that” . Everything begs our attention. Romans 6: 16 tells us that “ know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

The convenience of having the world wide web at our fingertips has exposed us to a lot more than ever before, both good and bad. At any time, we can connect with someone half-way across the globe and build a relationship on commonalities. We can also find ourselves as slaves to perversion and ungodliness with the swipe of a video. Our eyes and ears are in a constant mode of intake – always watching, always listening for the next trend or the next viral thing.

The algorithm knows some of us better than we know ourselves. We have built an entire online presence that an algorithm can now predict which videos will peak our interest and keep our attention. Isn’t that scary! See what type of information your social media apps feed you. Are they of the godly kind or otherwise – because – in reality, there are only those two options- either it’s godly or not.

When the things of life demand our attention, do we stop and give our all to it, do we spend hours doom scrolling untill we fall asleep with the phone in our hands? Do we offer little attention to it and focus on the things that are “true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things”

God calls us to purity of mind, to spending our time and efforts stewarding and minding the things that pertain to Him and His character. May we find ourselves at all times meditating on “these things”.