Forgetting
I tend to be forgetful, and can never remember where I left my car keys. But I remember a time, decades ago, when I discovered a new gadget that enabled my prodigal keys to alert me to their whereabouts. It was a key ring that beeped whenever I clapped or whistled. I was so impressed by my key ring, and was rather hoping to mislay it so that I could clap and get my moneys’ worth. My wife Kay thought I am moving into an ultra charismatic phase: I marched around the house while clapping quite a lot. Somedays I put my hands together so much, Kay thought I was working my way through the whole of Songs of Fellowship. Then I tried whistling, and Kay thought I was having an especially chirpy, happy day, which I wasn’t. The keys weren’t beeping back their whereabouts to their forgetful owner, because I had forgotten to switch the beeper on. Awkward.
But surely the epitome of my amnesia was demonstrated by my forgetting what country I was in one time. Americans drive on the right side of the road, while we Brits drive on the left, as God surely intended it. I drove down a busy Colorado street, blissfully unaware that I was not in Sussex, and noticed that a car was speeding towards me, on my side of the road, or so I thought. I alerted Kay. “Observe, darling, a somewhat deluded chap heading our way. Let us pray that he recovers his sanity”, I said. Or something like that.
Still he came right on ahead, like a determined kamikaze motorist: we were soon to kiss at speed. I thought sure that he would eventually see the error of his ways, and would get back onto his own side. About 2 seconds before crashing, I suddenly remembered: this is America. Perverse as it is, they don’t drive on the left. Rats. It is I who am in the wrong.
I swerved across the lanes just in time, and was appalled to realise that my forgetfulness had nearly caused casualties. At first I thought that I had nearly killed a fellow Christian, seeing as he seemed to be waving at me, pointing a finger heavenward. But then I looked closer….
Reflecting on the episode later, I discovered something about me that is a little more troubling than general forgetfulness: it had not occurred to me that I was in the wrong, even though I clearly and obviously was. My reaction was instinctive: I’m right, you’re not, kindly move over. Such a deception could have doomed us both to the long term consumption of hospital food, or worse.
And surely a similar deception can mug us all. We think we’re normally right. That uncomfortable reality is the reason for so much conflict in marriages, families and churches – the notion that we might just have got the wrong end of the stick is unthinkable, particularly for those of us spiritual types who feel that every opinion is downloaded from heaven itself, and that our viewpoint is surely God’s viewpoint too.
Stunning though it might seem, you and I can be wrong, and we often are. We are at times misguided, misinformed, hasty, unaware, or just plain old stubborn. There are only a few short steps from confidence to arrogance. We know the One who calls himself the Truth, but then quickly think that we always have the right angle, and hold the monopoly on truth too. Some of us occasionally affirm, “I could be wrong”, and then act as if the universe would explode if we were.
So let’s face the facts: some of our notions, choices, and even doctrines are wrong. And if the thought that our theological viewpoints are not the completely accurate picture bothers us, let’s remind ourselves that, this side of eternity, we see but through smeared double glazing, to paraphrase the penultimate verse of 1 Corinthians 13. The Bible is accurate, but our understanding of it is flawed. We’d all do well to think a little more, abandon some of our blustering, and sign up for the free but priceless education that comes when we listen carefully to others.
Meanwhile, back in the car with that clapping-responsive key ring, things were going wrong. I missed my turning, and clapped my hands with frustration. The key ring beeped, and Kay clapped too and launched into singing a chirpy worship song.
Let’s remember – remembering what we’ve learned, remember who God is, remember what scripture says, remember who we are in Christ.
And let’s remember – that sometimes it’s us who is in the wrong.