There are many things that have happened in the past that need not to be forgotten and in our history, books have documented many happenings that took place and are worthy of pondering upon today.
Although it is not uncommon to forget or ignore such moments or events, it can be a guide towards not having certain things reoccur, especially if they were horrific, like the slave trade, the two previous world wars, the advent of Christ on earth, the many dictators and kings and queens and other leaders of nations, and the many negatives that ought not to be forgotten.
We as a people tend to forget, and we put things behind us, assuming there could be no reoccurrence and forgetting that Mankind is liable to make the same mistakes over and over.
Not too long ago, almost like yesterday, we had a major pandemic that saw millions of lives lost and created worldwide panic, and those who have survived that episode saw all the shortfalls that came with it, and the urgent need to transform our lives, and be more careful with our day-to-day lives. But low and behold, many people are back to their same old worldly habits and have forgotten the pain and anguish COVID caused.
We have heard and know about the present destruction to our planet, but it matters not to some. We continue to brush under the carpet the pit falls of yesteryear.
Some of us have short memories and despite the documentation of the past we still seem not to adjust.
This is the season when Christians all over the world reflect on the life of Christ, his teachings, the wisdom of his words, and the consequences of disobedience and sin, but it seems to matter not.
In our political life, the actions of some are well documented, their behavior well-known, but we sometimes choose to make excuses for the past, not realizing that Man is a creature of habit.
We now have another world war looming in the wings, climatic threats, the spiraling cost of living, the health risks due to our social habits and we are quite aware of consequences, but we pay no mind and pretend that we are in charge and that we are invincible and we still behave carefree.
So, as we approach this season of righteousness, please remember to be guided by the past, because one too many mistakes can lead us down the path of destruction.
Why Mr. Ishmael, do we see old catastrophes recurring almost every century or so?
It is because the good Pharaoh who reigned during the time of Joseph was dead, and, after about seven hundred years, another tyrannical Pharaoh had ascended the throne.
Furthermore, the Israelites who had come to Egypt with Jacob, and knew the GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob practiced the Hebrew culture. By the time of Moses, they had fully assimilated into the pagan Egyptian culture;
So much so that when Moses told them that the GOD of their fathers had sent him to deliver them from hard bondage they suffered under the reigning Pharaoh, they asked, Who is this GOD?
This is to say that the permanence of human culture is limited by assimilation and memory.
Tides of humans flow continuously from village to town; from town to city; from country to country.
Therefore, their survival, at each juncture requires that they largely add on new ways of living, thus, inadvertently discarding much of their native practices.
Each generation that emerges into a diaspora of such cultural shifts feeds; as it were, on the milk or vomit fed them by the instant society.
That is why similar errors of wickedness, and social unrest flares up into human nature influenced by agents of evil;
Or a new dispensation of peace and civility pervades a generation, who for themselves, seek the good paths and opts to return to lands of milk and honey, where freedom and security is held in reverence by all.
Look well, and you will see that while some villages, towns, cities or countries are writhing in the grip of crime and violence,
Others are existing in peacefully.