Memorial Day & Our Penchant To Forget

Why institute a holiday like Memorial Day?

We need to remember.

When we’re sitting at a stop light that’s a little long or stuck in Memorial Day traffic, we need to remember that someone sat in a front-line trench in World War I literally facing the enemy across the barbed wire.

When Memorial Day weekend has choppy water for our boat outing, we need to remember the men vomiting in The English Channel from their “last supper” in the rough seas at Normandy.

When our hamburger is a bit over or underdone at our holiday barbecue, we need to remember that many troops went without a decent meal during strenuous combat situations.

When we’re not first in line at the emergency room, we need to remember the tens of thousands who never got up and died in the mud of a battlefield.

When we’re sitting on the back porch thinking that we somehow attained such a favorable status, we need to remember that one battle after another were like steps to the security we now enjoy as we swirl the ice cubes in our ice tea.

PORTAL TO HEAVEN: Just like God, people have instituted holidays to frame attitudes which says something about our penchant for forgetfulness.

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 8:10-20 NIV