It’s important to know where we’ve come from in order to get to where we’re going. And while history doesn’t always seem relevant to the demands of today, it’s pride that keeps us from learning from those who have gone before us.
To be sure, history is not just for the history buffs and trivia game nights. History is our story and we’re not the first to wrestle with the many mysteries of life.
While the external landscape continues to change from one generation to the next, there are consistencies within the human heart that remain the same.
And so, while our applications might be vastly different today, there is still great wisdom in learning from the old paths.
And this is true closer to home as well.
We each have our own origin stories, which go back even before we were born.
For better or worse, our parents, and the generations before them, have shaped how we see the world and approach life.
Knowing this history allows us to evaluate the good, the bad, and the ugly and adjust accordingly.
But we only have this freedom to adjust once we know it. And all too often we operate blindly under historical influences because we’ve not yet taking the time to learn our history well.
And even many aspects of our own personal story we’re tempted to forget as we try to leave the past behind us. Certainly, we don’t want to get stuck looking back. But our past still matters and we must give it the attention it needs to find lasting peace today.
In big and small ways, we set ourselves up for much unnecessary suffering when we don’t learn from our history.
Take the time to know your history – standing on the shoulders of the past, living faithfully today, and moving in confident hope toward the future.
Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash
