Premarital sex is defined as sleeping with a man or woman who is not your husband or wife. The Bible as well as the Koran teaches against sex before marriage. In the Bible, especially in 1 Corinthians 7:1-2, it said it is good for a man not to touch a woman, but to avoid sexual immorality, let every woman have her own husband and let every man have his own wife. It can be seen from this passage that the Bible frowns at fornication and adultery.
Majority of Nigerians are Christians and Muslims, both religions teaches against fornication and adultery but why do majority of people still indulge in it? I remember during my childhood years, it was very wrong for us to mention the names of the genitals. We chose less offensive names to give them. We call the front as 'front yansh' while the back as 'back yansh'. It sticked with me that for a long time even after growing up found it difficult to mention such things. What about having a relationship with a girl? That side is a no-go area. We dare not call a girl, if a girl smiles at us it seems as if we have won lottery. We became the shy type. What went wrong in our society that morality no longer have value?
From my experience, I can trace the problem to two things that may be responsible for the breakdown of morality in our society (other reasons may be there).
1. The Proliferation of Pentecostal Churches: When the majority of Christians attended either Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Church of Christ, Celestial, Jehovah's Witnesses and any other orthodox churches, morality was high. When the pentecostal movement started springing up especially around 1995 to 2000, morality started dying down. How did the churches contribute to the breakdown? They contributed when pastors and ministers started preaching it does not matter what the members wear to church or in the society. They say God searches the heart and not your outward appearance. Thus members became unrestrained in what they wear, since these so-called pastors are looking for members, they turned a blind eye to their immodest dressing. Dressing has a role to play on morality, if the society is filled with immodest dressing, sexual immorality will not also cease in such society. This can be attributed as one reason for the moral decay.
2. Church leaders' indulgence in evil: Although church leaders are not perfect but they are like role models to people. There are some things that ordinary people will do that will not raise an eye brow, but let a church leader do same, then you will see the reaction from people and the effect it will have in the morality of the people. In recent times, we started seeing pastors taking people's wives, involving in defrauding members all in the name of miracle, scandal upon scandals etc. These things therefore made those who were struggling to overcome lose faith. They concluded in their minds that if a man of God can do such a thing then who are they that can't do same. Christianity started looking like just a religion to associate with rather than a way of life. When pastors preach that sex before marriage is a sin, members just consider it as nothing because even the pastor preaching it, is asking one female member for it.
3. The birth of social media and satellite television: I can remember that in those days it was our local stations that we watch. Most movie I watched in my childhood were from the local TV station. People who had cable television that time were wealthy people. When satellite television started becoming available to the common man, many people started copying the way people dress in programmes they watch, try to behave the way they behave and speak the way they speak. Our moral values as a society started dying. When social media became available to anyone in the world, things were no longer open. Some things can be discussed and arranged and executed in private without anyone knowing about it. Teenagers below Nigeria's standard of 18 years and above have already started indulging in fornication.
On Sunday when I see the crowd of people gorgeously dress for service, I begin to ask myself if these people really apply the teachings they receive every Sunday? If they do, morality would have increased greatly in the society. Let's put hands together to build a better society.
Content created and supplied by: Infonest (via Opera News )
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