Numbers 16:41
“But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.”
The longevity of an individual’s memory is amazingly short. I remember the days after the attack on America on September 11, 2001, how Americans were united against those who flew airplanes into the two towers in New York City. You would think American patriotism and the united front against those who attacked us would live a long time. Yet, as is always the case, the memory of what the enemy did to over 3,000 people was short lived. Americans quickly became disenchanted with the hunt for those who were responsible for these actions.
This seems to be the case with the verse above. Korah and his followers murmured against Moses about how much authority he took upon himself. God was not pleased with the disloyalty of these people and their murmuring, and killed them by having the Earth open up and swallow them. A week hadn’t even passed by when another group of people murmured against Moses and Aaron and accused them of killing Korah and his followers. You would think that these people would have learned their lesson. You would think that murmuring would be the furthest thing from their minds. Yet, their short term memory caused them to sin against God and ended up costing them their lives.
I’m afraid most of us are guilty of a short term memory. Oh, it may not always be in the same area, but we all tend to quickly forget the lessons that we should have learned from the mistakes of others. We see the results of what their mistakes caused, and we quickly forget and do the same thing ourselves. You need to be so careful not to have a short term memory from the lessons God allows you to learn from the lives of others.
Don’t have a short term memory concerning the result of sin. If you have seen someone else sin and have seen the consequences brought upon their life, be careful that you don’t forget sin’s payment. You, should always remember the consequences that sin brings. A short term memory concerning sins consequences will hurt you. You should make sure every time you consider committing some sin that you remember the consequences others paid for the same sin.
Moreover, don’t have a short term memory concerning handling finances. Many have grown up in homes where their parents didn’t handle their finances really well, and they saw the consequences of poor financial management. Let me encourage you not to have a short term memory in this area and learn to handle your finances wisely by saving money and spending in a wise fashion.
Furthermore, don’t have a short term memory concerning the good others have done for you. It’s amazing how many relationships struggle because people have a short term memory about the good of someone. You shouldn’t let someone’s shortcomings cause you to have a short term memory concerning the good things they’ve done for you. Always remember the good that people do for you when they fail to treat you properly.
Friend, a short term memory can cause you much heartache if you don’t get it under control. Be careful in these three areas that you keep a good memory. If you must, then write down reminders to remind you of these things. Don’t let lessons from others’ mistakes be wasted. Learn from them and remember those lessons for the remainder of your life so you don’t have to pay the same consequences.