FORGETTING MAKES YOU REPEAT MISTAKES.

FORGETTING MAKES YOU REPEAT MISTAKES. 
Scripture: Daniel 5:17-23.
Topic : Forgetting makes you Repeat Mistakes. 

"Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. AND THOU HIS SON, O BELSHAZZAR, HAST NOT HUMBLED THINE HEART, THOUGH THOU KNEWEST ALL THIS; But hast lifted up thyself against the LORD of heaven..."
Daniel 5:17-23. 
  
The Bible story of deposition of Belshazzar is an example of how  a son repeats the sins of his father because he forgets. God does not tell us the stories of our fathers in order to disgrace or discredit them. Actually, none of us would like the stories of our low moments to be repeated publicly. However, God has allowed the mistakes of His servants to be written for our admonishing that we may not repeat them. Unfortunately, history shows that people simply repeat the same mistakes over and over again. When will we stay away from the sins that He warns us about through the examples of our fathers? When Daniel rebuked King Belshazzar (son of Nebuchadnezzar), he told him that he had not learnt humility even though his father had fallen through pride. 

One day, I had a meeting with some pastors on the third floor of our church building. We discussed at length, several issues that related to loyalty and church government. There were many contributions to the discussion and the pastors felt free to share what they felt. At a point, we discussed a particular situation in which a pastor had taken over and renamed a branch church. We discussed and condemned how he had painted over the old name and replaced it with a new name. Everyone agreed that this was an unacceptable behavior. A particular pastor stood up and gave a speech. He condemned such treacherous acts and pledged his unflinching support for the ministry. He virtually promised to give up anything that would hinder his lifelong commitment. A few months later, this same speech-giving brother came up to me and said, “I have decided to start a church.” I was taken aback because he was already pastoring a church. So I asked, “Which church are you going to start. I thought you were already pastoring a church.” Then he said, “God has led me to start a church.” I continued, “Is it a Lighthouse church or another church.” He answered, “Another church.” I asked him, “What happens to the Lighthouse church you are pastoring?” But he did not answer. The answer came several days later when he painted over the name, “Lighthouse Chapel International” and replaced it with a new name. 

The surprising aspect of this individual's story was his very vocal support for the ministry combined with his presence at the meeting at which this particular behavior was discussed and condemned. Just like Belshazzar, he repeated exactly what someone ahead of him had done. Let us all pray that God's grace will keep us from repeating the sins and mistakes of our fathers. God allows us to know the mistakes of seniors so that we would stay away from them. We are not better than people ahead of us. Neither do we have any
better motives nor prayer lives than anyone ahead of us. It is the grace of God that will keep us from evil. Pray that your Daddy's devil will not be your devil! 


Credits: Excerpt from
Remembrance.
Bishop Dag Heward -Mills.

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