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The Power Of Remembering
May 27, 2000 (Weekend Service)
How we choose to remember significant things in life will determine whether we live vibrant, productive, hope-filled lives that move into the future, or whether we live an existence that is defeated, bitter, and stuck in the past. The first problem with our memories is that we often times forget what we ought to remember. Sometimes we can just have memory lapses, but what's a more immediate concern are those memory losses that are subtly intentional. People make sacrifices to give us gifts, but we have a tendency to take those gifts for granted. We forget about them quickly because acknowledging those gifts makes us feel indebted to those who sacrificed, which will then compel us to display some sort of response. It is easier to just forget the price that was paid for us and continue to think about satisfying whatever it is that we want at the time--position, money, power, respect, prestige, control, or even pleasure. We can get help in remembering what we ought to remember by 1) finding relationships that keep us accountable and 2) paying attention to what the Bible has to say about memory. However, our memory problem has a flip side. We also have a tendency to remember what we ought to forget. We dwell on personal failures and struggle to let go of the wrongs that other people have inflicted upon us. It is possible to forgive ourselves and others by 1) rediscovering the humanity of the perpetrator, 2) surrendering our right to get even, and 3) wishing the perpetrator well into the future. Do you have control over how you remember things?
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