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Condoning is the cousin of accepting
by beatrice ofwona A dictionary describes the word condone as overlooking or forgiving an offence or an act or simply making up for it. A heated argument arose in a Christian classroom about the dress code of the twenty first century. Out of the twenty only two stood their ground and felt that society had let itself down in acceptance of what is fast becoming the norm; indecent dressing. As the two broke ranks with the rest, it became apparent that the majority felt that what was important in churches was the saving of souls and not what apparel these souls came draped in. As my discontent and disbelief arose, I wondered about a lot of things. I was reminded of an onslaught I had recently suffered as an unsightly strip of flesh struggled out of what used to be inner or under wear, but which fashion had now elevated to over-wear, and invaded our privacy. As we passengers quickly darted our eyes away in confused intrusion of this visual attack, I wondered whose house this teenager had walked out of. Society has repackaged itself into a malleable form that readily accepts anything new as norm. Parents may argue that the world has changed and that the children they are now bringing up are different from those ones of yester years but among us are young people who remain decent in talk, thought and actions despite growing alongside the rest. The excuse that the world has changed is a feeble attempt to escape from the responsibility of exerting authority which is given to parents by God. Power is the possession of controlling influence and one of the ways leaders do this is by using legitimate power, given as a result of the position a person holds as seen in set ups such as the military, government, schools and homes. When this authority is exerted, based on the legitimate position held, there is usually no resistance from the followers because it is innately and socially understood that compliance is the natural course of events. The leader therefore has the right to be obeyed. What we see however are parents who have been given leadership positions by God now absconding on their duties and letting children who need direction, guidance and wise counsel take the reigns of control. God in His timeless wisdom knows what chaos erupt when the servant becomes the master. We have lost direction ourselves as our children dominate our homes on matters pertaining to discipline and decency. We even have mothers who now zealously compete with their daughters to see who can adorn the tightest, cleavage-revealing outfits! Modernity has not re-defined sin, we have. A commendable act was seen by one Christian father who put his foot down and asked a culprit mother to burn up all newly bought outfits after a shopping spree for their teenage daughter and even went ahead to provide money for replacement. More such fathers are needed. We are all leaders in one way or the other and therefore need to ponder on our contribution to what is slowly but dangerously seeping in through airwaves and false doctrines, into homes and churches. It is better to eject a few rotten apples than to lose many more who may succumb to the sin that the eyes and heart concoct. If it is in the public domain, it is our business. What a shame that we now condone what is indecent and unchristian and still think that we are the salt and the light of the world! (word count 589) May these words (sermons), from various men and women of God be a blessing to all. contact:[email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |