Physical Address
Towne Church
3722 Towne Blvd.
Middletown, OH 45005
A few weeks before entering my freshman year of high school, I was at band camp. For some schools, band camp is at a different location, such as a camp. There are a few camps where I live that host band camps for schools. Band camp at my high school was simply at my high school. The band did not have the budget to attend an off-campus band camp. School was about to begin, and I needed to register for my classes. My mother, who worked nights as an ER nurse, was meeting me after she got off work at the high school to help me register. The problem was that all the rising freshmen attending band camp left practice simultaneously to register for classes. With all the excitement of being at band camp and entering high school, I went to register for my classes, but I forgot that my mother was in the parking lot waiting to meet me. My mother was not happy with me when I got home.
In recent years, while my son was still in high school, he experienced a period of forgetfulness. I would often receive a text from him because he had forgotten something at home that he needed at school. Sometimes he would forget his computer, calculator, or his lunch – those were the usual suspects. Although it was not always a major inconvenience for me to drop off what he needed at the school, it was becoming a weekly occurrence. I finally told my son he needed to be more responsible and that I would no longer accommodate him when he forgets. The following week, he forgot something, and I let him go without. Interestingly, either he never forgot again, or he just dealt with it.
Forgetfulness can have serious consequences. Unfortunately, when we forget God, it’s not as simple as forgetting a calculator or a meeting. Forgetting the Father comes with consequences. God does not always cause these consequences — they are usually self-inflicted. The psalmist offers a vivid portrayal of forgetfulness in Psalm 106. Israel for about God while they were in Egypt. They forgot about his love. But God delivered them from their enemy through the Red Sea on dry land. They forgot and wanted something other than manna. God sent them quail, but he also inflicted them with disease because of their forgetfulness. Israel forgot God and became jealous of Moses. The ground opened and swallowed those who were jealous. Had Moses not interceded, God would have destroyed Israel at the foot of Horeb. They forgot his promise, they worshipped the gods of other people, and they sacrificed their children. As often as they suffered for their forgetfulness, God did not forget them.
On this side of the cross, the modern effects of forgetting God often look different from those they did for Israel. This does not suggest that God has changed. The necessary work through the cross and resurrection no longer requires God to inflict consequences on his people – his plan of redemption has been fulfilled. This does not suggest that God is absent from implications, for he is God. However, it does mean that we become the consequence of our own forgetfulness.
When the believer forgets their Creator, a longing for substitution(s) infiltrates. Much like our predecessors, we begin to worship idols. Post-modern idolatry does not need to take on the form of Baal. Idolatry can come from some of the best things that are meant to be enjoyed. One of those can be ministry. Other good things one may worship are family, occupations, friend circles, small groups, and even the church one attends. When the Father is forgotten and the worship transfers to something other than the Father, corruption settles in. The Hebrews writer speaks of this in chapter 12, “Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many. Make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person…(Hebrews 12:15-16, Christian Standard Bible)” Of course, idolatry can be cast toward evil or amoral objects, much like Baal, money, or oneself. Stala writes, “The contemporary human being, confronted with a multitude of postmodern phenomena, lives in a world of illusion, rejecting the truth about himself and leading to the objectification of himself.”
When worship is taken from the Father, and he is forgotten, we begin to experience unnecessary corruption and brokenness. Forgetting the Father is a decision that subjects the forgetter to brokenness. When we are subjected to brokenness, we become broken. In our broken state, we become susceptible to anxiety, depression, and other health issues. Personal underlying problems are not being discarded, meaning some people are more vulnerable or predisposed to mental and/or physical health conditions than others. Maintaining a constant state of remembering the Creator by directing worship to the One who is worthy allows one to be less prone to unnecessary brokenness. When God is the focus of worship, we no longer create consequences from previous idolatry. The consequences may still exist, but being aligned toward the Father equips the believer with perseverance and strength (Romans 5:1-5).
