I read that there are various tools that we can use to help remember people, or remember occasions. One suggestion is to use all our senses. Like when we meet a person we look at their face (Visual) and we listen to their accent (Audio), touch etc.
I suggest more though. We remember emotional things far better than all our senses.
Everyone knows that bad news travels fast so if someone tells lies about someone else the news sweeps across town and people are all talking, fearing and gossiping about the person that is being gossiped about. The bad news is the reason that you will remember that person for a long time. You may even check their Facebook page and see what they are really like etc.
Emotions are all our senses and our deep inner spiritual feelings together. Add them to meeting a person and you will never forget that person.
If a person attacks another person physically or emotionally then they will remember that feeling. If a person falls deeply in love at first sight then that feeling will be with them deep in their heart – it is kind of hard to forget it when we love someone deep in our spiritual senses.
If we have an emotional tie when we meet a person then we will remember them, remember their name, and them as time goes by learn more and more about that person.
If we meet a person and he or she tells us a story that has an emotional impact or feeling, or is even funny then we can remember that person from that emotional feeling and say, “Last week and Jill’s house that man Joe Wilson told us the most amazing funny story about his trip to Africa.”
Another example is the life and ministry of Jesus. Many of the preachers of that time would have run down Jesus with harsh words to the public. They would have told people to fear Jesus and keep away. And other people who said bad things about Jesus would have told even more people. Bad news travels fast. So many people in the early days would have sought Jesus out simply from curiosity and what they had been told by people who were trying to destroy Jesus. So we can gather from that, that many people would have been attracted to Jesus from simply gossip.
God is wise and would use all that negative attraction to bring more and more people to Jesus so that they in turn would hear the Word.
I remember for me a year or so back I was verbally attacked on Facebook and this person with friends came on my Facebook wall and said some terrible things and then they got many people up against me but while all this negative publicity was going on I was getting around 40 to 50 friend requests a day. That is what negative publicity can do when God takes a hold of it and uses it for His good. As soon as I told the person that I was getting that many friend requests a day they immediately stopped attacking me.
It is kind of strange to think of people becoming known by people saying negative things about us but when they come to know us and find out (like they would have done with Jesus) that we mean no harm and only want to help them then we make even more friends from their negative efforts.
I hope this gives you something to think about.
All the best from James M Sandbrook.
20th of November, 2012.
20th of November, 2012.