Remembering Hospitality
Deuteronomy 23:7
"Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land."
As God prepared Israel to enter into the Promised Land, He wanted to remind them of how they should treat their neighboring countries. God knew that they would eventually have the power to destroy any nation around them. In the verse above, God told Israel to be sure to treat Edom and Egypt kindly to their third generation. The were two reasons for this. First, Edom was a relation to Israel, and God wanted them to remember to be kind to them because of their connection. Second, Egypt allowed them to be fed during the great famine in Joseph's day. God wanted them to be kind to these nations because of their past hospitality.
However, you may remember that both of these nations were at one point unkind to Israel. When Israel asked Edom if they could go straight through their land while traveling from Egypt to the Promised Land, Edom would not grant them passage. Likewise, the latter years in Egypt were not the greatest years of Israel's existence. Egypt had treated them unkindly by putting them under cruel bondage. Yet, God still wanted them to treat these nations kindly because of the good that they had done to Israel.
When I look at my life, I can recall many people who have been kind and influential in my life. Of some of these I have very fond memories. These people were good to me all the time. We never had one time of disagreement. We never had one time when they mistreated me. These people were very good to me. On the other hand, there were some people who were good to me and even influenced me, but the end of our relationship was muddied with disagreement. There were some who were good to me for many years, but they turned on me and tried to destroy me. If I'm not careful, I will forget all the good they had in my life and let a few months of disagreement ruin all the good years of hospitality shown.
Christian, it is very important that you remember to be good to those who have been good to you in the past. Don't become so busy in life that you forget to remember and honor those who have been good to you. They had a part in your life, and the least you could do is take time to write them a note of thankfulness for their hospitality. It may be a teacher you had in school, a Sunday school teacher when you were growing up, a preacher in a previous church, or some person who took interest in you and helped you. Always take time to remember people who were good to you in the past.
Furthermore, don't let the bad that someone did against you cause you to forget their hospitality shown. I often have to remind myself that when people turn on me, it is not because they are bad people, in most cases it is because of sin. Sin caused them to turn. You must be careful not to let the small portion of bad erase all the good that they did. Sure, the bad is the last memory you have with them. If you are not careful you will let your last memories erase the major portion of the good. Take the whole picture in context and you will realize that the good they invested in you is greater than the bad.
Remembering hospitality will only be done by character. Set time aside each week to remember someone from the past who influenced you for good. Then, honor them or their family in some way for what they did. If you will do this, then you might rekindle a friendship. Likewise, if you will remember hospitality, then God will be sure that others will remember what you have done for them.