Do You Really Know It?

We are inundated with information. Information overload doesn't even begin to describe it. I read that a weekday edition of the New York Times actually offers more information than the average 17th century English person came across in their entire lifetime! That's amazing. We have access to more information now than at any other time in history. You would think that fact alone would make us healthier, happier and more successful in every respect, but it hasn't. Do you ever wonder why? I do.

I think that it all comes back to what God says in Hosea 4:6 - My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

While it is true we have access to every type of information imaginable, what exactly is information? I did a little study - I love digging into the meanings of words. My dictionary says information is "a telling or being told something, news, intelligence, word, facts, data, learning, lore." We can get a multitude of information on any given subject, and still have no true knowledge of that subject. Knowledge is defined as "a clear and certain perception of something; the act, fact or state of knowing; understanding." The original meaning from the Hebrew of the word translated knowledge in the verse above has many meanings, including, comprehension, to understand or be sure of. True knowledge goes a step further than simply amassing information. We only acquire knowledge of something when we understand it well enough to interpret and utilize it practically and productively for a specific purpose.

You may have a wealth of information about proper diet, nutrition and exercise and yet still be overweight, out of shape and malnourished! Do you take the information you have and study it until you understand exactly how to apply it to your own life in a practical and specific way and for a strategic purpose? Then and only then does it move from mere information to knowledge.

God is right - many particularly in our country, are being destroyed, literally, by this lack of knowledge. They are being destroyed by obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and a host of other devastating illnesses and conditions that could be prevented, reversed or treated by applying knowledge - understanding and doing it.

There's actually one more step and that is to acquire wisdom, which is defined as "the faculty of making the best use of knowledge, experience, understanding, etc.; good judgment." I happen to believe the only true wisdom comes from God. Wisdom originated in Him and we can move from simply having information to having true knowledge, which then becomes wisdom when we seek Him as to exactly how we are to apply it to our lives.

So next time you think you "know" something - stop and think about it. Do you really know it or is it simply more information you've collected?