THE DANGER OF FORGETFULNESS
MEMORY VERSE: “Bless the LORD, O my soul and forget not all His benefits” (Psalms 103:2).
INTRODUCTION:- We all do it, probably every day. It has a huge impact on the way we view ourselves and the way we respond to others. It is one of the main reasons we experience so much conflict in our relationships. The scary thing is we barely recognize that we are doing it.
What is this thing we all tend to do that causes so much harm? We forget the generosity of God.
LESSON OUTLINES
Causes of Forgetfulness
In the busyness and self-centeredness of our lives, we sadly forget how much our lives have been blessed by and radically redirected by the generosity of God. The fact that He blessed us when we deserve nothing (except for wrath and punishment) fades from our memories like a song whose lyrics we once knew but now cannot recall. Most of the time we take God’s generosity for granted.
Every morning, God’s generosity greets us in at least a dozen ways, but we barely recognize it as we frenetically prepare for our day (Lam. 3:23-24).
When we lay our exhausted heads down at the end of the day, we often fail to look back on the numerous gifts and benefits that dripped from God’s hands into our little lives.
We don’t often take time to sit and meditate on what our lives would have been like if the generosity of the Redeemer had not been written into our personal stories. Sadly, we all tend to be way too forgetful, and there are few things more dangerous in the Christian life than forgetfulness.
Dangers of Forgetfulness
Forgetfulness is dangerous because it shapes the way you think about yourself and others. When you remember God’s generosity, you also remember that you simply did nothing whatsoever to earn His blessings. When you remember his generosity, you are humble, thankful and tender. When you remember His generosity, complaining and grumbling gives way to constant gratitude and self-focused desire gives way to worship.
But when you forget God’s generosity, you proudly tell yourself that what you have is what you’ve achieved. When you forget His generosity, you take credit for what only His blessings could produce. When you forget His generosity, you name yourself as righteous and deserving, and you live an entitled and demanding life.
When you forget God’s generosity and think you are deserving, you find it very easy to withhold generosity from others. Proudly, you think that you are getting what you deserve and they are, too. Your proud heart is not tender, so it is not easily moved by the sorry plight of others. You forget that you are more like than unlike your needy brother or sister, failing to acknowledge that neither of you stands before God as deserving.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Will you remember to remember the generosity of God? Remembrance produces worship, inward humility, and outward generosity. Give thanks, be humble, and be generous, because the blessings you receive from the Lord are not what you deserve.
QUESTIONS
What are the causes of forgetfulness? Outline the dangers of forgetfulness.