LEST WE FORGET
The above phrase is one we hear a lot, particularly during this time of year. We often remember those who sacrificed their lives or health for the benefit of this country especially if they were relatives, friends, or neighbours. But we often do not remember or think about the real circumstances that determined and accompanied those sacrifices. We tend to put such remembrances aside since we were not actually involved in the conflicts. It’s really not a surprise considering that it has been about 80 years since the end of WW2 and most of us have never experienced the horrors, agonies, or restrictions of war.
War, to most of us, is what we read about in books or see in movies, It is often marked by pageantry, parades, and military events which tend, in many ways, to glorify and enlarge the military life. While this may be somewhat acceptable during peacetime, it can diminish the truth regarding the events that took place during a conflict. We are inclined to forget what genuine confrontation entails when we have never had to take part in any actual conflict.
The reality is that we do forget and this is not a new phenomena. In many ways we forget what history has already taught us and because of that we are probably doomed to repeat it. This was expressed over 3000 years ago after Joshua entered the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy, the Hebrews were told to:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
And these words I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)
But apparently this was not done as God had instructed. Joshua did bring the Hebrew people into the land God had reserved for them but eventually he, and those of that generation, died. Then “…another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord…” (Judges 2:10-11) so that He (God) “…sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so they could no longer stand before their enemies” (Judges 2:14).
This apparently happened over and over again. God would rise up someone to bring the children of Israel back to Him and give victory over their enemies for them only to forget and slip back into their old ways whenever that leader was no more. The cycle would repeat itself time and time again. Forgetfulness seemed to be a habit they could not shake.
It seems the same today. We say we’re not going to forget, but if one hasn’t been there it is unlikely that those very important details, the ones that are really required to truly appreciate the enormity of war, are lost. We don’t learn from history any more than the Israelites did and, therefore, at some stage we’re likely to repeat it.
So it’s nice to say we won’t forget but the reality is that we do forget the important details; details that we should always remember. That is why we were told to love the Lord, keep His words, and to teach them diligently to our children, so that we would not forget Him.
He who, about 2000 years ago, sacrificed His life for us so that we might be blessed with complete freedom and an enteral life. A life, gifted to us only because He took our punishment when He took our place.
But we do forget what He did and thus fall back into the same scenarios that have always been our problems. The same way we never really remember all the sacrifice made by the men and women who fought and died on our behalf.
We were told to always love God and to keep this thought close to our heart. If we all did this then the world, as whole, would be a better place and we would not keep repeating the problems that we continually face. If we truly kept in our hearts the memories of those who died on our behalf during wartime, and why they died, then hopefully we would not be as apt to repeat history.
Remembering those individuals and our history is something we should always be thinking about; in the same way we should always have in our heart the memory of Christ’s sacrifice.
We need to keep thinking about it: Lest We Forget.
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