Rewriting History

People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 NIV

Rewriting history is a common and sometimes dangerous pastime which is adopted by everyone from children, right up to nations and governments. It is a bit of fun as you watch children complain when a game is lost, and they try to replay only some previous moves to show that they actually did win, or should have, after all. Governments do it but they can cause untold misery and deception for millions of people of their population, and others. Iran does it by claiming the holocaust did not happen, and for a long time Germany and Japan hid the truth about their actions in the Second World War from the following generation’s schoolbooks. These examples are extremes, from the humorous to downright hostile. The common factor for me, is the manipulation of the truth to make it appear in a better light, not just that wrong has been done!

So, what about us? Do we try to change our history to suit what people think about us? Is our past honestly just the way we play it back now? I don’t always think so, and I believe we all fall to the temptation to rearrange the memory of our past deeds to make us look better today. That helps us feel better about ourselves, and all done in the hope that others don’t know us well enough to think any differently, or they have not been a part of our past anyway. So far so good!

A couple of things happen as we try to manipulate/rewrite our history. The most obvious is that those who do remember that past, view us as hypocritical and insincere. It also serves to emphasise our past behaviour, and not hide it as we wish. Our reputation also takes a big hit as we try to pull the wool over our friends’ eyes. They are not stupid, and already have us figured for who we really are, and more importantly, were. The second thing happens inside us. As we try to make ourselves into a new and improved version (in our own eyes) we lose something of our integrity, and honesty. Part of our ‘good’ self fades away. We effectively become a cheap imitation of a better person, even with those past flaws which we are so anxious to hide.

I am not saying that we should be proud and open about all of our past. A lot of it does not need to be aired, especially those ‘old’ sins which God has already forgiven and forgotten. However I am saying that as we try to manipulate our past actions in other folks’ minds to make them think better of us, to protect our own pride, this is bad and to be avoided. This kind of ‘history’ is trying to be hidden, not forgiven, and there is a big difference. Like you, I know those who have tried to rewrite their history, and it doesn’t work. It usually just makes them look at best silly, and at worst, hypocritical!