I am going to step out on a limb here, culturally speaking. Today I saw a few events take place in a short period of time which really bothered me. Yes, I am a foreigner in a different cultural context BUT in the spiritual realm, our culture shouldn’t be the determining factor. Let me set the stage… this afternoon I walked to Albert which is a local grocery store. I needed to get a few items and the walk is good for me. Anyway, as I approached the store… around 4:30pm, there were 4 to 5 young men and a young woman standing around close to the front entrance. They were laughing loudly and being a bit crude. As I got a little closer, I smelled the strong, unmistakable aroma of pot. These guys were just sitting around smoking dope right in a public place and it seemed that nobody really cared. Just a few minutes later as I waited in the line to purchase my items, there was another young man, probably around 17 years old, who was buying a quart of some sort of hard liqueur. Then another young man of about the same age was buying some cigarettes.
To me, this is a sad thing to see young men and women who appear to have no guidance in things which seem so out of place and harmful. Ok, yes… I am a Baptist missionary. I do have certain standards which I must uphold and personal convictions about such things. I fully understand that I am NOT in the USA where pot is illegal and it is illegal to sell liqueur or cigarettes to minors. Here in Czech Republic, I have been told that most young people are allowed to “experiment and explore” such things in the maturation process. I am sorry, but this may be just a little too much freedom for a non-adult. There are serious consequences to drug use and young people drinking hard liqueur. I know that is not a popular thing to say in this country but it is true none the less. I pray that young people all over this country will be challenged within their “inner man” to maintain a sound mind and pure heart before God. When you dilute your thinking with foreign substances, you open up the door for the dark forces of this world to harm you. Yes, I know that is not popular talk either. Well, I shall step down from my soap box now and pray that God will stir within the hearts of these young people to discover a beautiful truth… that God is real and He has a plan for their lives which is good and worthy… amen.
Proverbs 20:1
PS: these comments are not meant to irritate my Christian friends here (and I hope that they wouldn’t)… they are just my personal observations. I know that “we” Americans have our own social sins and struggles to deal with. I am honestly just showing concern for a generation of young people who might grown up with no self control or moral restraint, that is all.
