SPundau
SEebbcn
By Bessie Wilbon
M . INTRODUCTION
Man has a moral nature. This is one of the things that
cLSnS!Ui?heS f?m ** of God’s creation.
Constantly making choices, man is responsible for the
consequences of his actions.
We continually seek to hide our evil behind something
°r ca^ ^ “salving the conscience.” Some make a
gift to a worthy cause or charity in an attempt to restore
our self esteem. We should know better. Certainly God
knows better for He is not to be bribed in any such fashion
Benevolence is no substitute for righteousness.
Nor is education. A generation of schooling without
.training in morality and ethics will result in a society
devoid of integrity. Some of the most notorious criminals
are among the best educated, the results being that their
crimes are only more-sophisticated.
INTRODUCTION
- The prophet Amos deals with these points in our lesson.
What does God desire? Certainly more than just a show of
religion: more even than acts of worship directed to Him.
That which God desires becomes a basic issue for all of
life, and we will do well to give our attention to it.
The climate of today’s lesson was one of peace and
prosperity; there was a feeling of euphoria. Were they not
enjoying rich blessings from the Lord?
-The true condition of Israel may be stated in the words of
another prophet, Isaiah, who said, “This people draw7Tear“
me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but
have removed their heart far from me,” (Isaiah 29:13).
Because the lives of the people were corrupt, their praise
was mockery and they would fall under the condemnation
of God.
Listen to this, you women of Samaria, who grow fat like
the well-fed cows of Bashan, who mistreat the weak
oppress the poor, and demand that your husbands keep
you supplied with liquor.
“Makeit your aim to dowhat is right, not what is evil, so
that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty really will
: be with you, as you claim he is. Hate what is evil, love what
- is right, and see that justice prevails in the courts. Perhaps
I tbe Lord will be merciful to the people of this nation who
are still left aside.”
The Lord says, “I hate your religious festivals; I cannot
. stand them! When you bring me burnt offerings and grain
offerings, I will not accept them; I will not accept the
. animals you have fattened to bring me as offerings. Stop
your noisy songs; I do not want to listen to your harps
: Instead, let justice flow like a stream, and righteousness
-like a river that never goes dry,” (Amos 4:1; 5:14, 15,
21-24). ...
It is deplorable to observe depravity in any human
being. For some of us it fc sadder still when a woman
• abandons all decency and degrades both herself and
womanhood by adopting vile habits. We do not believe in a
- double standard of morality - one for me and another for
women, but could it not be that many women are quick to
adopt the vices of men in order to attain or prove their
equality?”
Far from feeling any pity for the suffering of the
impoverished, these pampered darlings cared nothing
about the abuse and exhortation by which their husbands
extracted their wealth from the poor. They only knew they
wanted more, and it made ho difference to them what their
- husbands resorted to to provide for the fulfillment of their
-desires.
Z Israel, though founded “under God,” was far from being
; a godly nation. Blessings had been hers. God had been
- to His people. He had sent His prophets to instruct
when necessary, to warn. He had been patient. When
s prayed, God even postponed the time of judgment
the land. God certainly had not abandoned His
_ »le. It was they who had forsaken the Lord, they who
id taken a wrong turn. Still a positive note was sounded
>d would receive them back into His fellowship if they
otild accept His invitation.
. Seek good; not religious platitudes, or abstractions, but
do good and practice justice and fairness in all of life. With
some, goodness is negative, a code of “Thou shalt nots.”
| With others, it is a pious attitude. But goodness is more
: than refraining from something, more than temperate
: Jiving, more even than praying. In the biblical sense one
cannot be good; he must do good. In the case of these
people who stood before the prophet, it was a call to show
active concern for the abused and the underprivileged, to
relieve the poor, and to correct the injustices of society. If
the people of God within a nation will not do this, then who
; will?
The word seek involves effort. We are such creatures of
: habit that we are not going to drift into new endeavors that
' may be called good, and drifting is usually in the opposite
! direction. Without decisive action our good intentions will
: get us nowhere.
What does God want? Some would answer that He wants
incerity, and surely we would not deny that But it is an
tror to consider sincerity to be the moit significant
^element of acceptable worship. To say that it does not
blatter about one’s beliefs and practices as long as he is
sincere is nonsense. One may believe a lie to the loss of his
: soul, and dreadful things have been done by people who
: were sincere. , t
. .Let justice run down as waters. As an arid land is made
to blossom and brought to fruitfulness by overflowing
: waters, so would the overflowing of justice in Israel bring
:inew life for all. We give lip service to such commit
ment each time we quote our Pledge of Allegiance: “With
• liberty and justice for all.” But do we live it? Are we
concerned about it and do we work for it?
How much injustice and wickedness can a nation endure
and still survive? Is there a limit? To what degree can the
home be degraded, the courts and legislation courts
corrupted, and financial institutions defrauded? How
many of our youth can we give up to dope and alcohol?
How many prisoners can we provide for at 925,000 per
year? Just what percentage of a nation can become
crooks, from shoplifting to mob violence to murder, before
judgment strikes, whether from a fire of its own making or
from a direct act of God?
llTrlZT?.? uember °'the Deborah “-Pter No‘ <* Order of the
e. a stern Star and Rameses Court No. 78 Daughter of Isis recently
received the Deputy’s Outstanding Service Award for Organizer and
T ‘US' durlng 33rd annual North CaroUna Council of
De ibera.lon heW in Winston-Salem. N.C. Officially known a. Lo^l Lady
erguson. she was the first Organizer and Overseer appointed to the
Mountain Region by Deputy G. Wesley Allen. M.D. 33 degrees. A Past
of Zar^r fni!er and °verscer’ L*dy Fergusonis a member
P»«r . A,«a"der Assembly No. 35 Order of the Golden Circle; she is a
AssembhT Ad dm '* current,y financial secretary of the
Assembly. Additionally, Ferguson serves as chairperson of the fund
raising committee and is the adviser to the vice president of the Mountain
Region. A member of Harmony United Methodist Church in South
Carolina, where she serves as the chairperson of Council of Ministries as
p'aS chairperson of Worship, Ferguson is married to 111. W. H
riind^en"’ ^ degree8, and ^ have thre* children and four grand
- —— -—.- I
June Proclaimed As Rape Prevention Month
lo increase public awareness of
precautions against sexual assault,
Governor James G. Martin has pro
claimed the month of June as Rape
Prevention Month.
Rape continues to be one of the
fastest growing violent crimes in
North Carolina. The most 'recent
annual Uniform Crime Report In
dicated that reported rapes have
increased in North Carolina by al
most 65 percent since 1976. Research
indicates that only 10 to 50 percent of
all rapes are reported to law en
forcement.
In his official proclamation,
Governor Martin said, “I urge all
citizens to seek preventive informa
tion for themselves and their chil
dren.
• I also urge all state and local
officials involved in the criminal
justice system to devote special
attention to the prevention of these
crimes while redoubling the efforts
to make our system more respon
sive to the needs of their vic
tims,” Martin stated.
Community agencies and local
rape crisis centers are preparing for
the coming summer months when
the reported incidence of sexual
assaults is at its highest. According
to “Crime in North Carolina,” a
publication prepared by the N.C.
Department of Justice, most rapes
occur during the month of June,
followed closely by the month of
August.
The same study shows that rapes
most frequently happen in the vic
tim’s home on the weekend and that
women between the ages of 16 and 30
are most frequently the victims.
Statistics also show that rapes most
often are perpetuated by someone
the victim knows.
Rape crisis centers and other
community agencies across the
state are planning a number of
events in June to create a greater
public awareness of this problem,
raise funds, train volunteers, and to
teach self-protection techniques.
The Rape Crisis Center of Ashe
ville will sponsor a conference on
"Providing Assistance to Victims of
Sexual Assault" on May 91 in Ashe
ville. Other events planned include
the third annual Sunset 5K rtm on j;
Saturday, June 1, In Raleigh; a film
festival in Wilmington; daily spots
on rape prevention on WFMY-TV in
Greensboro and WGHP-TV in High
Point , and a series of self-defense
programs in Orange County.
"The rape crisis programs are
providing an outstanding service to
local communities," said Batty J.
Budd, director of ths N.C. Council on
the Status of Women. "8exual as
sault prevention is just one com
ponent of this multi-faceted pro
gram," she added.
According to Budd, these pro
grams also provide 24-hour crisis
intervention, victim advocacy, coun
ting and volunteer training and
community education. She said,
"Without these programs and ths
support that the staff and voliav
teers provide, victim^ would find
that trauma rape to be tm
Por more information or printed
materials contact Clndi Dorman,
N.C. Council on the Status of Wo
men, 526 N. Wilmington St., Ra
leigh, N.C. 27604, 919-733-2455.
When you know you're special, it shows. Just by looking at the pleasant
facial expressions of Martin Wilkins and Asha Hood, you can tell that
they’re special. They were recently honored King and Queen at E C
Cannon Cathedral Daycare. (Photo by Ricky Sampson of Divine
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