“We are not ignorant of his devices,” Paul says of the one variously called in scripture as destroyer, tempter, and adversary (II Corinthians 2:11). We know that one of his favorite tampering grounds is the memories of believers.
Here are eight ways I’ve learned over a lengthy ministry that Satan uses to sabotage Christian influence and poison Christian behavior by messing with the remembering/forgetting mechanism of the Lord’s people… .
One: We remember the “good” from the bad, old life.
In the wilderness, Israel forgot the slavery and cruelties from their Egyptian captors and recalled only the few pleasures. “We remember the fish, the melons, cucumbers, leeks, onions and garlic,” they said in Numbers 11:5.
Vance Havner used to castigate Israel for their bellyaching and shallow cravings. “Melons — they are 95 percent water! Cucumbers — 12 inches of indigestion! And the onions and garlic — well, they speak for themselves!”
After we have come to Christ and been forgiven for the past, then to return to that trash heap and pick through the refuse to savor some choice morsels — not a good thing. “As a dog returns to its own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). That proverb was cited by the Apostle Peter in the New Testament concerning people who drop back into their sinful ways. “It has happened to them according to the true proverb,
Dr. Joe, why should we relive the misery of our selfish days? Hopefully we get over them….change our behavior and move on to be generous, unselfish messengers. Stay focused on the good deeds and continue to do them and dump the misery memories.
Depressed people tend to live too much in the past. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow isn’t here….all we have is TODAY. That’s why it is called…”The Present”. If you screwed up the past, forget it and do a good thing today.
Joe, you made an assumption on your last line. My memory is not messed up. And I won’t let the devil(Satan) put me on a guilt trip. The devil is just an excuse for bad behavior. Most people make bad choices. Change your choices and you change your life…and start living in the PRESENT. HAT
I enjoy visiting good memories from the past. I cringe now and then when a major goof, whether sin or stupidity, pops up. I try not to dwell on any of these, for God expects us to live in the present, looking to the future. AFter all, the Greek for forgiveness means to let go of. We need to let go of our sins (God has)but also our successes. Too many people seem caught up in past experiences or careers – school, sports, military, etc. Good places to visit, but don’t live there!
Joe,
You and James Richardson were major influences in my life. As you may recall, you were responsible for my summer job at his church at FBC Leland when I was a student at MC. He was a very generous man in so many ways. His family treated me like their own and forgave me of my faults and inexperience, especially when I lost 2 students in a cotton field on a snipe hunt. It was only temporary, but I was sure I was about to be fired.
Forgiveness is a wonderful thing.