"Do You Need a Good Memory?"

“Do You Need a Good Memory?”

In 1974 college and professional basketball great Jerry Lucas corroborated with entertainer and memory specialist Harry Lorayne in writing The Memory Book, a guide to improving recollection skills. Thousands of people, including yours truly, have read this work and profited from the principles suggested. Now if I could only remember them….

A good memory is a great advantage in education, business, ministry and virtually every other area of life. It can enhance our skills and effectiveness in what God’s called us to do and keep us from embarrassing situations. It’s certainly a favorable and valuable quality to possess but is it really necessary to survive on life’s journey? In most cases the answer is no, but there’s one time I can think of when it’s a “must have”: lying. Perhaps Abraham Lincoln said it best: “A liar better have a good memory.”

Paul addresses this issue in Ephesians 4:25: “…Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to (his or her) neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” (Emphasis added) Using the approach described in the previous blog “Dressing Ourselves” we see we’re to stop lying (using deception of any kind to gain an advantage) and practice telling the truth. But it’s more than speaking correct and honest words (anyone can do this even occasionally)—it’s being people whose word can be trusted over the long haul.

So then why is it so important for us to be truth tellers? For an opener, “…The Lord hates…a lying tongue….” (Proverbs 6:16-17) and “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in (those) who are truthful.” (Proverbs 12:22). But the apostle also gives a practical reason: we belong to each other in Christ’s church and this fellowship can be hindered or even destroyed by lying. (Remember that Jesus, the Head of the church, is “…the way and the truth and the life….”—John 14:6, emphasis added.) Truth telling, however, must be tempered by love (“…{speak} the truth in love….”—Ephesians 4:15). That’s the stuff that makes the Body of Christ look good to a skeptical world (“All…will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”—John 13:35).

By God’s grace I have a pretty good memory but I hope and pray it’s a blessing, not a necessity.

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan