Forgetfulness
is often associated with aging. In reality, forgetfulness is more associated
with being human and discovering that living life often crowds out memory. Time
seeps into our memories and washes out knowledge we once possessed. It is
replaced with vague memories of what we once knew but cannot, or subconsciously
prefers not to, recollect in present circumstances. Thus, memories and lessons
of the past are subject to either complete oblivion or distortion. Distortion
often allows facts from our distant memory to become conveniently reinterpreted
to mesh with current desires. Sometimes forgetfulness is a blessing –
especially when coupled with forgiveness of an offense which we have endured.
At other times forgetfulness can be extremely dangerous.
On March 11, our world remembered the 2nd
anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern
Japan. It was the fifth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern
record keeping in 1900, resulting in a devastating tsunami of epic proportions
reaching in some places to a height of 133 feet and racing as far as 6 miles
inland. The combined tragedy that
resulted left 19,000 people dead or missing, hundreds of thousands displaced,
over a million buildings either collapsed or damaged, and an economic
catastrophe estimated at 235 billion dollars – marking it as the most costly
natural disaster ever.
Some assume that the tsunami was
unprecedented and could not have been anticipated. Archeologists however, note
that there are hundreds of stone markers stretched out along the coastline of
eastern Japan, dating back more than 600 years that gave warnings of the
dangerous waves. One stone slab near the town of Aneyoshi has the carved
warning, “High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants. Remember
the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build below this point.” The warning
on the stone markers was heeded by the dozen or so households of the hamlet of Aneyoshi
and their homes survived the disaster that destroyed low-lying communities
below them. Other markers did not indicate a safety zone, but did issue a
serious warning like one that read, “If an earthquake comes, beware of
tsunamis.” Another read, “Always be prepared for unexpected tsunamis. Choose
life over possessions and valuables.”
The stone tablets were not a secret. Yuto
Kimura, 12, living in Aneyoshi, reported, “Everybody here knows about the
markers. We studied them in school.” Because they didn’t forget and heeded the
warning, he said, “When the tsunami came, my mom got me from school and then
the whole village climbed to higher ground.” Others forgot the stone marker’s alerts and
perished. Why? A scholar who studied the tablets, Yotaru Hatamura, concluded,
“People had this crucial knowledge, but they were busy with their lives and
jobs, and many forgot.” Professor Fumihiko Imamura, teaching disaster planning
at Tohoku University in Sendai, a city devastated by the tsunami, added, “It
takes about three generations for people to forget. Those that experience the
disaster themselves pass it to their children and their grandchildren, but then
the memory fades.” Forgetfulness can be dangerous!
The
Old Testament reveals that God knows that humans have poor memories. Therefore,
he gave the children of Israel a warning in Deuteronomy 8. This was the
generation who has just finished the wilderness wanderings. They were told as
they were about to enter the “promised land” to “not forget the Lord” (verses
11, 14, 19). He had delivered them from captivity, led them through the
wilderness, and provided for them during those 40 years. He cautioned that
their current pleasant circumstances may perpetuate amnesia of the past (verses12-17).
God also provided for them “tables of stone” (10:1-5) to aid them in
remembering God and what He wanted them to do. However, forgetfulness sets in
and the alerts that God gave were not heeded and national disaster resulted.
How dangerous forgetfulness was for God’s people.
Again we are reminded in the New Testament
that people are prone to forgetfulness. The Apostle John records the words that
the resurrected and ascended Lord Jesus Christ had for the church of Ephesus
(Revelation 2:1-7). They forgot to love Christ as they should. They are
challenged to “remember and repent” (5). Here the church was busy doing all
sorts of things but in the process they were forgetting to love God as they
should – “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all
your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). Forgetfulness again
is seen as dangerous.
Are we in
danger of forgetfulness when it comes to God? Nations and individuals can easily
forget the wisdom, guidance, and warnings that God has provided to give us a
life that both pleases God and benefits us. Perhaps people are prone to forget that “the LORD, He is God;
it is He who has made us, and not we
ourselves; we are His
people and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3). When this occurs, we
are in danger of being overwhelmed and destroyed when the emotional, moral,
ethical, financial and spiritual “tsunamis” roar into our lives. The Psalmist challenges God’s people
to “forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2). That is good advice for everyone
because forgetfulness can be dangerous. How can we stimulate our memories about
God and what He has done for us and what He wants from us? The place to start
is not on “stone monuments” or human traditions. Our memories are reactivated
as we turn to God’s Word, the Bible, which God has provided for us to
neutralize our natural tendency to become forgetful. Remember, forgetfulness
can be dangerous!
