Memory, Part 5

I would like this to be my last meditation on the subject of memory. Let us briefly review the ground we have covered. Recall that God has given us an amazing capacity to remember. We remember far more than we realize. God holds us responsible to use this capacity in our relationship with Him. We are commanded to remember God, His works, and His commandments. We must be especially careful not to forget our Lord in times of material prosperity, when we have more things to distract our attention. We have learned that we tend to remember those things that have meaning for us. If something is meaningful enough to us, we will want to remember it. If we want to remember something, we will think of ways to help us remember. And our merciful God has Himself provided us with some props to help us to remember what He requires of us.

In our last meditation I suggested that our capacity to forget can actually be helpful in remembering. Here is another quote from More Than Meets the Eyes by Richard A. Swenson, M.D.:

As important as memory is for our day-to-day functioning, selective and appropriate forgetting is likewise important for our day-to-day emotional health...When the ancient Greek Simonides offered to teach Themistocles the art of memory, he refused. “Teach me not the art of remembering,” he said, “but the art of forgetting, for I remember things I do not wish to remember, but I cannot forget things I wish to forget.”
“In the practical use of our intellect, forgetting is as important a function as remembering,” said William James. “If we remembered everything, we should on most occasions be as ill off as if we remembered nothing.”

If the mind is overtaxed with information, we will be more prone to forget things we need to remember. So we need to sort out information that needs to be remembered from information that does not need to be remembered. In other words, we need to establish priorities in the area of memory, just as we do in everything else. Establishing priorities helps you decide what you must leave off when two things are competing for your attention at the same time. Priorities help you to discern between what needs to be remembered and what is best forgotten. Setting priorities means that you learn to say "no" to certain things that would encroach upon your priorities. Having priorities means that you will not always be available for everybody and everything that would demand your time and attention. Observe how our Lord did not let men keep Him from fulfilling His priorities.

Luke 4:42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.
43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.

Along the line of priorities, the following is an interesting quote from the writings of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen:

The busy man, being used to doing things, is never taken by surprise by a request. His secret of getting anything done is to know what to leave undone. The busier one becomes, the more he has to build a pyramid of priorities, deciding that the unimportant will give way to the important. The son of Confucius once said to him: “I apply myself with diligence to every kind of study, neglect nothing that could render me clever and brilliant; but I do not advance.” “Omit some of your pursuits,” replied Confucius, “and you will get on better.”

By establishing priorities and not trying to do everything, you will free up mental energy required to remember the things that you need to remember. In fact, I have read that studies indicate that people who watch less television actually have better memories. You see, they are not cluttering their minds with the useless garbage that television is so full of! We all need to look for things to eliminate so that our minds and memories are not overtaxed. By finding things to forget, we will have more energy left to remember.

But does Scripture teach the usefulness of forgetting some things? Indeed, it does. Let’s read the words of our pattern in Christian conduct, the apostle Paul himself.

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul was so focused on the prize that he forgot anything that hindered his reaching forth unto it. Now this does not require us to forget everything in the past. In this very chapter of Philippians Paul recalled his past in the Jewish religion before his conversion to Christ. We should certainly not forget God's blessings in the past.

Psalms 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

Nor should we forget God’s dealings with us for our past sins.

Deuteronomy 9:6 Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
7 Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.

The forgetting Paul is teaching us about is like that of Joseph when he forgot all his toil and all his father's house while he was in Egypt.

Genesis 41:51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.

Now Joseph certainly knew his past and his family for he mentioned them in saying he had forgotten them. But he put them behind him and got on with his life. He did not dwell on them. Paul is teaching us not to hold on to or dwell on anything that would distract us from our main goal and hinder our progress. For example, don't get stuck in the sins of the past. Learn from God’s dealings with you because of them. Let them humble you. But accept God's forgiveness for them and move ahead. Don't let past failed relationships or past hurts hinder your growth by dwelling on them. Forgive those who have wronged you and move ahead. Don’t get stuck in the tragedies and sorrows of the past. Better things are ahead of us. Press forward to them. Don't dwell on your losses for Christ. Esteem them but dung and move ahead to better things just as Paul did. And don't be always dwelling upon your past acts of obedience. You are not done yet with obeying God. Move ahead in further obedience. All this unnecessary dwelling on the past consumes mental energy and leaves your mind less energy for remembering what God requires you to remember.

Another way to improve your memory is by learning to delegate. Anyone who tries to do everything himself will only wear himself out, including his ability to remember. Moses tried that one time. He was doing all the judging of the causes of the people himself and his father-in-law wisely rebuked him for it.

Exodus 18:17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.

Moses’ father in law then instructed Moses to delegate lesser matters of judgment to other capable men while reserving the hard matters for himself. We also have the example of the apostles who delegated the care of the church widows to deacons so that they could give themselves “continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (ACT 6:1-6). In this case they did not let matters of lesser importance interfere with matters of greater importance. In other words, they established priorities. And in keeping with those priorities they delegated responsibility. So by means of prioritizing we either eliminate things or delegate them to others so that our minds and memories are not overtaxed.

I trust this study has been helpful. There is a wealth of sites on the internet that give tips for improving memory. One article I found that I liked is entitled: Improving Your Memory: Tips and Techniques for Memory Enhancement. This article can be found by going to www.helpguide.org and typing in the title. God grant us all grace to remember Him, His works, and His commandments first and foremost. By God’s mercy I am yours in the remembrance of Him.