Remember Best, Forget Rest!

You have been Hurt? Remember Best, Forget Rest!

What do you remember about people? The good experiences or the bad experiences? Paul said, “I like to remember the good things about people, focus on the good times we’ve had, remember the positive experiences.”

When Paul said this, he had not had an easy time in Philippi. Acts 16 tells us that when he went to Philippi he was illegally arrested, whipped, humiliated, and thrown into prison — before finally being asked to leave town. Yet he says, “I thank God every time I remember you.”

Remember Best, Forget Rest!

Paul could have dwelt on the negative. He could have remembered the painful memories. He chose not to remember the painful; instead, he focused on the things he could be grateful for.

Maybe you have been hurt in the past by a parent or a partner and you’re still holding on to that hurt. Remember Best, Forget Rest!

As a result, you can’t enjoy being around them today. You’re still focusing on the bad and the negative. Be grateful for the good in people. Pleasant memories are a choice. I can choose what I’m going to remember about the past.

If you want to enjoy others, you’ve got to focus on their strengths and not their weaknesses. With some people it takes a lot of creativity. But you can find something good in everybody.

I’m not saying that you deny the hurts you’ve had or that you excuse the weaknesses in other people. That is psychologically unhealthy.

But focus on the good and choose to emphasize the strengths.

God is love. We deceive ourselves if we think we can love God and hate other people (1 John 4:20). Love should be number one on your spiritual priority list. It should be the main thing in your life. It is, in the words of St Paul, ‘the most excellent way’ (1 Corinthians 12:31).

Be grateful for the good in people. Pleasant memories are a choice. If you want to enjoy others, you’ve got to focus on their strengths and not their weaknesses. Remember Best, Forget Rest!