Selective Memory
／Evelyn O. Shih
One day, in my devotion, I came upon Psalm 106. There I read, "But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel." Again, "They forgot the God who saved them."
They had, therfore, complained, worshipped idols and followed their flesh to sin. Because of this, God had to punish them and handed them over to the gentiles until they prayed to God and obtained deliverance from their suffering. Soon, however, they forgot what God had done...
This scenario comprised almost the entire history of the Israelites. The cycle repeated itself over, and over, without stopping. It's such a sad and depressing situation!
Why do people always forget what God had done for them? Psychologists say that people have selective memory; that is, they tend to subconsciously select what to remember and what to forget. For example, a husband can't remember his wife's birthday, but remembers the date he should change the oil in his new car.
Let's analyze this example in more depth. First of all, he may act this way because he is interested in his new car more than in his old wife.
Secondly, the car occupies his mind most of the time. No man can serve two masters, especially the male whose mind works better when it has one task to handle, unlike the female who can handle three or four tasks at the same time.
Thirdly, the man may have thought that a birthday is not such a big deal. He can't even remember his own birthday, and, furthermore, birthdays come every year, so to miss one is not a crime. Of course, in this case, he doesn't understand what a woman thinks about his behavior. She very clearly and directly thinks he no longer loves her.
Fourthly, the man's behavior signals that he doesn't respect his wife. He perhaps takes it for granted that she will forgive him after a big fight. He doesn't realize that the hurt she feels over the years will accumulate into explosive disasters.
The Israelites had more unexcusable reasons than the above mentioned case. God is their creator and deliverer. Furthermore, they had seen God's work personally; it was not only a historical record. That they soon forgot these significant experiences can only be interpreted as "they deliberately forget it", as in St. Peter's words.
Memory can be selective, so what kind of selection will you make? When you say forgot something, do you want to analyze your subconscious a little bit?
