1 Samuel 26:4 (NKJV)
“David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.”

We may not always have all the information we need to make the decisions we need to make, but the more information we have, the better we are. Not all information is useful and helpful, but more information is better than less.

Information is knowledge, and information helps us process how to relate to different situations. Information gathering is critical in preparing strategy and avoiding pitfalls. As I have said many times, knowledge is power.

However, the motive for information gathering is more important than the information gathering itself. The reason why you want to know more about people and situations is very important. Increasing knowledge must be for the right reasons.

Some people want to know more about everything and everybody just for gossiping. They love hearing more and more about people, as an end in itself. They simply enjoy finding out things about people just to talk about them.

Some other people want to know more about people to execute their evil plans. Saul is an example of this. Unfortunately, many people fall into this category. Such people gather information and then use it for harmful purposes.

But there are those who want to know more about things around them because they want to use it for godly positive action. They want more knowledge to understand how to act correctly or relate properly to situations around them.

That was what David did. He sent out spies to gather information so he could know how to respond to Saul. Because of the spies, David was aware that Saul was coming, which helped him plan a strategy to respond to Saul.

Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” Why did He do this? Because He honestly wanted to know what people were saying about Him. It’s not wrong to want to know more. Knowledge is power. Only let your motives and use of knowledge be pure.