Have you ever been in the dog house because you forgot to send a birthday card or remember a wedding anniversary? It really is serious if we forget these little acts of kindness and end up leaving a friend or loved one sad instead of glad because of our carelessness. We should never trust our memory but rather discipline ourselves to record important things in a diary and then tick them off as we do them.

Although there are many things we must remember there are some that we should forget! It grieves God and destroys our peace of mind if we keep harping on squabbles we’ve had with family or friends. Life is too short to harbour grievances that will torment us with regrets until it’s too late to enjoy forgiving and making up. Jesus said, “Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” [ Matthew 5:44 ]

The famous story of Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat shows us how he overcame evil with good by forgetting the past. [ Romans 12:21 ] Joseph had been sold as a slave by his jealous brothers who then deceived their dear old father into believing that he had been killed by a wild animal, by producing Joseph’s coat soaked in the blood of a goat. Years later Pharaoh made Joseph the chief ruler in Egypt and Joseph named one of his sons Manasseh meaning God has made me to forget. Although it was now within his power to take revenge on his brothers, his son’s name reminded him to ask God to help him to forgive and forget all their cruelty. With God’s help he was able to speak kindly to them and say, “You meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good.” [ Genesis 50:20 ]