Walk of Life, Day 1 – September 2020 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs
My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent – Proverbs 1:10.
The purpose of every parent thriving to give the best school education to their ward, is that they should inculcate good values, morals, habits and discipline. They tend to afford in spite of all odds and difficulties. Somehow twelve years of schooling along with three years of kindergarten, the child comes out molded with all moral values and principles. Suddenly the child gets an admission in a college and comes out of the care and nurture of the parents. Once when they step into the college, their acquaintances have no limits. The differences amidst them are vast, ranging from culture to language in addition to difference in status and upbringing.
Not a wonder, if the child becomes an hosteler, there is a change in everything. Being amidst the students especially with boys of a renowned college, students begin analyzing how different they seem to be from others and try to camouflage with the crowd. The students who come from remote areas will be timid, shy, introverts and above all more respectful. As days pass on, the peer pressure dominates them because of which they slowly choose to become exactly like their posh friend. They find pleasure in imitating their friend or room mate locking their conscience and keeping it covered with the best wrappers. To adapt to such a lifestyle, many unconventional methods are used like demanding, arguing, robbing, deceiving and so on.
Disheartening will be to hear the anguish of the parents in the way the new converts have behaved in destroying the trust of the family. Not only for an outsider like me, even the child will feel so sorry for his/her own untoward behavior. Many will be given a second chance to prove his/her worthiness but there are few who have lost the chance of coming back.
This is absolutely because of the refusal to say a two letter word No at the outset. How can I say no when my friend offers it? How will I be able to reject such a great offer by saying No? What will they think of me? What will happen if they make me to stand alone? How can I survive in this place without their friendship? All these questions begin to haunt. Though it is not pleasurable in the beginning, gradually it begins reacting, ending up into a desirable aspect.
On this first day of the month of September, let us analyse our ways, our actions, our words and our thoughts. Have we consented to others? This message is not only to a youngster, but it’s for every one of us.
Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ has warned us in Matthew 5: 37 “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’. whatever is more than these, is of the evil one.” Let us be more concerned on what our Lord thinks about us than what people think about us. As believers, this is something very common and which we all have been trained to practice and at the same time, more forgotten. May our Lord help us to say ‘Yes’ to what we have to say ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ to what we have to say ‘No’.
“A man who is intimate with God is not intimidated with man.” – Leonard Ravenhill
