Oscar Wilde wrote, “Memory is the diary we all carry about with us.” The chorus who concur with Wilde have written the same. However, memory can be easily distorted. At times we remember what we want to be true, even though it is not. Some recall partial events from a perspective that doesn’t tell the real story. In more recent days we have seen historical revisionists. These are people who twist the annals of history to fit into their preconceived narrative or political opinion. Historians, which was once a noble profession, has become a cloudy mix of motivated activists.
This is nothing new. The Children of Israel said: Numbers 11:5-6 “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and the garlic: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna.”
The memory of the Children of Israel was a lie borne from their disgruntled spirit. They spoke of the “good life” before they followed Moses. They saw his leadership as inept and the food from Heaven unsatisfactory. Egypt was a land of torment. The people were slaves; living without freedom. And yet, after years of eating manna, they remembered things that never happened so they said, “it was better in bondage.”
If memory is the diary, then we must maintain its truth. Regardless of our struggles living for the Lord, the world is not better than the church. Lost in sin is not better than being found in the Lord. Even if the “manna” tastes the same, -same sermons and similar lessons – it will always be better than living bound by the elements of a godless society. Spiritually minded people understand the value of the church. Those who are carnally minded complain about the House of the Lord; the very place where the Word of Life is sown.
I caution you to guard your memory. While we are moving through these uncertain times, we must remember where God has brought us from. I urge you to recall the goodness of the Lord and the value of the church house for all it has brought to you. Do not rewrite the history of your past. It was not better elsewhere. It was darkness. God brought you out and He set up this place for our benefit. I’m leaning on the old song, “When I look back and see where He brought me from…”
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole