Love in the Time of Information

Knowledge, in its simple English meaning, refers to the fact that you and I know something. For example, we all know that the earth is round, the sun is hot, Delhi is dusty and noisy, my neighbor’s dog is crazy and so on.
On a serious note, the whole of history is a testament to the fact that we do want to know. In fact, our progress as a species has been a byproduct of knowledge gained in various areas of life. Think agriculture, wheel, fire, furnace, metal, tools, weapons or craft.
With every technological advancement, we were able to tame this wild, inhospitable earth and today, like an expert glassmaker, we are almost able to bend the materials found outside or inside the ground to our will.
The last century saw two great world wars and we were confronted with the flip side of this inherent desire we have to know – conquest by any and all methods. Even today, we live in the shadow of the threat of a nuclear cloud.
In the 21st century, we have almost gone back to the root of knowing something. Like the previous century’s obsession with splitting the atom, we have drilled it down to its fundamental alphabet as it were, i.e., data or information.
It does not take a Zuckerberg or a Musk to realise how data has become the New Emperor, or as some wise men would say, the New Oil. Companies are prepared to shell out millions of dollars to go to court, hire the best talent or undercut rivals. All for the sake of data, masquerading as binary algorithms somewhere in a deep abyss.
So much for the introduction! Now, on to the tyre-hits-the-road part:
This week, I was meditating on the last part of 1 Corinthians 8:1, which says, “knowledge puffs up while love builds up”. Indeed, information is literally at hand, thanks to social media, news, TV and smartphones.
Now what does this verse have to do with our practical everyday life?
To me, it was the “building up” part that caught my attention. There is absolutely no doubt that we are all as knowledgeable as the other fellow down the road in Sant Nagar. But do we pause for a while? Do we question ourselves? Are we exerting even half the effort that we put in updating our social media statuses to doing something for the betterment of another soul?
Is there a plot brewing in our heads?
Are we scheming to surprise people,
with a plan that will add value to their lives?
How do we want people to remember us?
With fluttering fluff on Facebook?
With stuttering stuff leading to a slippery slide?
Or do we ask our God to empower us?
To give us grace to do the things we know
we don’t have the ability to do?
Maybe it’s forgiving someone – letting them go,
Maybe it’s confronting a brother or a sister,
Maybe it’s opening the door to someone less privileged than you,
Maybe it’s mustering the courage to stand up to _______,
Maybe it’s sharing the good news to bad people,
Maybe it’s sharpening yourself,
Maybe it’s training harder.
Dear friends, we were born for such a time as this.
We were genetically imprinted with His purpose.
And now, we have the opportunity of our lifetime
to transform our neighbourhood,
our church,
our office,
our workplace,
our roads,
our politicians,
our country.
But are we spending time close to His heart?
Do we know we are loved?
Are you ready to build?
Contributed by Abe
Abe serves as an elder at Fusion Delhi. He grew up in Nagaland and Assam, and currently lives in Delhi with his wife and their two beautiful girls. Abe works at an MNC in Gurgaon and has been dabbling in writing for almost two decades now.