Forget and forfeit

By Cindy McDermott

A while back I caught a bit of the Bill O’Reilly show on Fox News. He and his guest were discussing a recent news story, the details of which escape me. Mr. O’Reilly made the comment that perhaps Americans are too quick to forgive. Now, if Mr. O’Reilly were sitting in my living room, I might have to contend with him on that point. I don’t think Americans are too quick to forgive. I think we are too quick to forget.

Call to mind any big news story. Where is it now? When was the last time you heard about it? There was a flurry of excitement and activity and I’m sure the outcry was great. But who talks about it now? How much thought do we put into it now? Has it slipped from our memory?

Perhaps it is part of our weak nature to forget. In Psalm 59 David pleaded to God concerning his enemies who conspired against him without cause. David wrote, “But do not kill them, O Lord our shield, or my people will forget. In your might make them wander about, and bring them down.” David saw that the human tendency was a short memory. If it’s not staring us in the face, it is far from our consciousness. How accurate the old saying is: “Out of sight, out of mind!”

But God’s memory is not so short. God does not forget evil and injustice. Even the sin of His chosen people He does not forget prematurely. Micah 6:9-12 reads: “Listen! The Lord is calling to the city – and to fear your name is wisdom – ‘Heed the rod and the One who appointed it. Am I still to forget, O wicked house, your ill-gotten treasures and the short ephah, which is accursed? Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights? Her rich men are violent; her people are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully.” Later in vs. 16 God accuses them of following the practices of Omri and Ahab, whose offenses included idolatry. Likewise in Amos 8 God talks about those who oppress the needy, cheat, and pursue dishonest gain. Of them God says, “I will never forget anything they have done.” (Amos 8:7b)

It would be well for us to note that many of the evils mentioned here are such things as greed, dishonesty, lying and lack of compassion. Such things anger God. Yet we often dismiss these as “little” sins and “white” lies. Not only do we forget the sins of abortion and euthanasia around us (which we may consider the “big” offenses), but we ignore and disregard the “little” sins around us. What is wrong with us that we are not offended with righteous anger by all that is offensive to God? Why is it that our memories are so short we forget the sin that surrounds us? And why are we so quick to condemn the sin of the world, but pass lightly over the sin of those who call themselves the people of God?

But God does not only remember. He also acts. If we keep reading in Micah 6 we find: “Therefore, I have begun to destroy you to ruin you because of your sins. You will eat but not be satisfied; your stomach will still be empty…” (vs.13-14a) Also in Amos God declares His judgment: “Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt.” (vs.8) God doesn’t just sit around and remembers and says, “My, my, how bad things are getting.” His remembering causes Him to act.

Likewise, we need to remember and act. God told the Israelites: “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” (Deut. 25:17-19) I’m not suggesting that this instructs us to blot out the memory of all those who treat us poorly. Rather, I’m suggesting that the application to us is not to forget the evil and injustice and lack of fear for God around us. We should not forget even if time has passed. Have we forgotten the televised exhibition at the Super Bowl a couple of years ago? Have we forgotten Terry Schiavo? Have we forgotten the million babies aborted? Time does not erase that these events happened, nor that similar events keep happening. So what are we going to do?

Our first line of action is to pray. Perhaps we underestimate the power of our prayers before God. We can begin by praying that God’s Kingdom will grow on this earth. We can pray that our nation will repent and that wise and godly men will come forward to lead our country, and that their efforts will be accepted by those who live here. We can pray that God’s people will mature and live uncompromising lives in His service. Then we can go on to pray for those specific needs and situations at hand, and God’s will concerning our own involvement.

Then we are ready for hands-on action. I would agree that there are so many worthy causes that we can’t be involved in them all. I would also agree that our commitment to certain causes cannot take precedence over our first responsibility, which is to our families. It is also true that God may call us each to different things. But that does not give us excuse for complete inaction. If we truly cared, we could find something we can do.

But the worst thing we can do is forget. Forgetting is forfeiting. It is forfeiting souls and lives and the good life God would have us enjoy. We must remember before too much is lost. At that point we may very well remember, but then all we’ll be able to say is, “Remember when…”