Blind Faith (No. 29, 2008)
Repetition is an important key to memory. How many times have
you been introduced to someone for the first time, and the new person’s
name is said only once by the person making the introduction? Did the
new person’s name stick with you, or did you almost immediately forget?
Some memory coaches suggest repeating the new name at least three
times in the first minute or two after being introduced in order to
help retain the person’s name. Repetition is one of the keys to
memory.
Losing the ability to remember names, things to do, or other
information is a universal complaint. Advancing age, contrary to
widespread assumptions, does not cause an appreciable loss of ability
for most people to remember. Yes, some medical conditions and a few
medications can interfere with a person’s memory, but for most people,
the brain retains its mysterious and amazing capacity to memorize and
retrieve information undiminished by age. Perhaps as we grow older, we
may be called upon to access some information from our memories less
frequently, or we may encounter a person less often, or we may hear or
see less clearly the things that prompt memories, reducing the
reinforcing repetition that may have kept our memories fresh in earlier
days. Maybe we figure that life has taught us enough, so we just don’t
pay attention or devote much psychic energy to committing new names and
other information to memory. For most people, regardless of age,
repetition is one of the keys to memory.
For the first months after I became blind, I asked church
members to read the Bible texts from which I would preach in the
worship services. One Sunday, I wanted to give the text a particular
interpretive vocal inflection. I decided to memorize the five or six
verses and recite them myself. I was surprised at how many listeners
seemed to pay closer attention to the memorized text. (I wondered if
some people followed me word-for-word in their open Bibles, checking to
see if I got all the words just right.) Perhaps the increased oral
interpretation while reciting rather than reading the text helped.
Memorizing the text soon became a standard part of my approach to
preaching.
Memorizing the text also changed my own experience with the
sermons I preached. In order to memorize the text, I would listen to
it repeatedly. Phrase by phrase, I would have my talking computer read
it to me. Then I would begin repeating the verses back – first in my
head, then aloud – until I was confident of being able to recite the
passage publicly. During the cycle of repetition, I found that nuances
of the Bible text began to emerge. The more often I repeated the text
to myself in preparation for preaching, the better I felt that I
understood those Bible verses. I began to memorize the text first, then
to prepare the sermon, because prayerfully repeating the text to
memorize it always provided opportunities for God to lead me to new
insight and appreciation for the text. Repetition of the Bible text
became one of the keys both to memorizing verses for public
presentation and – more importantly – for that part of the Bible to
change my life.
None of this should be a surprise to us. From the beginning of
God entrusting his written word to his people, they were instructed to
practice repetition of his word. In personal, family, and community
life, God’s commandments and guidance were intended to be repeated
continually so that his people would be changed by them. When Moses
came down from the mountain to present the 10 Commandments to the
people, he first told them: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the
LORD alone. {5} And you must love the LORD your God with all your
heart, all your soul, and all your strength. {6} And you must commit
yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. {7}
Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you
are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down
and when you are getting up again. ” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7 NLT) Moses
went on to explain that this repetition would help them to remember
God’s grace in delivering them from slavery in Egypt, and his covenant
promise to love and to care for their needs. Unfortunately, they
forgot to remember and to repeat God’s words, and wandered aimlessly
for forty years in the wilderness. Centuries later, when God’s people
had experienced sweeping renewal of faith and national solidarity, they
were reminded of the necessity of actively committing God’s words to
memory. Repetition is cited as one of the keys: ” Listen carefully to
what wise people say; pay attention to what I am teaching you. {18} It
will be good to keep these things in mind so that you are ready to
repeat them. {19} I am teaching them to you now so that you will put
your trust in the LORD.” (Proverbs 22:17-19 NCV) The result of
repetition and memorization of God’s words is clearly and poetically
stated in one of the first Bible verses I recall memorizing: ” Thy word
have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm
119:11 KJV)
What gets repeated in your daily routine? Whatever gets
repeated is what will stick in your memory. It could be the rerun of
Friends that you have seen innumerable times already, so that
you can now recite the dialog verbatim. It could be the argument you
had with a loved one, which you have replayed so many times that it is
now etched in your memory as irreplaceably as your phone number or
address. It may be the dirty joke your neighbor told you, and you told
a friend, and you heard your friend tell someone. It may be the
oppressive tedium of your daily routine, the things you have to do over
and over and over every day. Remember, repetition is one of the keys
to memory. And what you remember does change you from the inside
out.
How long has it been since you committed a Bible verse to
memory? Here’s an assignment for this week. Repeat the following
Bible verse every day, several times at breakfast, lunch, supper, and
bedtime. Enough repetition of this one verse will cement it in your
memory, if it is not already there. If you know the verse, repeat it
daily, anyway, so that it can exert new life-changing power. This
week’s memory verse is:
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of myheart, be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my
redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 NKJV)
Repeat the verse in your mind. Repeat the verse aloud. Pray
it as a first-thing-in-the-morning prayer. Find a friend with whom you
can share the verse, and repeat it to one another. Repeat it as you
are going to sleep, expressing your hope and commitment for the next
day. Remember, repetition is one of the keys to memory. What else
will you repeat this week?
J. Edward Culpepper, Ph.D.
