By Banji Ayoola
Virtually everywhere on earth today, the subject that dominates our thoughts, words and deeds is intimate relationship between both sexes.
At home, on the road, in the offices or at work places, at schools, markets, even churches and mosques and many other places of worship, which should be hallowed grounds, and wherever or whenever men and women assemble informally, this is the leading topic of general discussion. There is too little or nothing at all which is ennobling and uplifting.
Generally, topics of discussions everywhere are disgusting. It is either that men or women, including young adults share our sexual exploits, plans and experiences or strategies or even quarrel, often bitterly, over this subject. Or we indulge in other similarly idle, barren discussions. It is very sad.
More saddening, this plague equally now ravages and poisons the circle of younger adults, teenagers and school children.
Man is worse than the animal in this regard. We take gratification of this natural instinct as our utmost occupation. We have turned the healthy desire of a mature body for sexual intercourse to a profession for which we are ready to sacrifice even our earth lives and those of others.
Men run after other men’s wives sheepishly and unscrupulously. Similarly women shamelessly seduce and go out with husbands of their neighbours.
The way we live on earth today, as we have been doing for years, is repulsive, harmful and hindering.
Not only have we entangled ourselves in a web of wrong opinions, ideas and practices, we have turned our natural physical animal sexual instinct into a beast which terrorises us and our neighbours. The natural demand of a healthy body we have turned into a curse.
It is baffling seeing how we devote ourselves to gratifying this particular instinct.
The enormous energy, resources and many valuable hours that we sacrifice and waste daily over this are gifts that should be employed for more ennobling ventures. There again we commit another transgression against our Creator by wasting His precious gifts.
Like every other Law of the Lord which exist for the welfare, peace and joy of man, the Ninth Commandment is unambiguous in Its clarity: ”Do not let thyself lust after thy neighbour’s wife!”
But sadly, we shut our ears against this clear Commandment of our Lord as we do to all the others, and go about inflicting harm on ourselves, our neighbours and environment with frightening recklessness.
Not only do we shamelessly lust after our neighbour’s wives, we unscrupulously lust after our neighbour’s daughters, sisters, mothers and even grandmothers. After their children.
And because of our lusting, we terrorise our neighbours, lie, slander, libel and commit several other unimaginable and abominable crimes. We even kill.
This lusting, generally, is the source of today’s sorrow which hangs over the earth. It is the source of the strange diseases and ailments that inflict us, shorten our earth lives and endanger the earth today.
It is the source of all crimes, of most conflicts, of all wars. It is the source of much unhappiness and virtually all else that disturbs peace on earth today.
Lusting after the woman or the female sex generally is one of the worse of these lusting, of these desiring.
But the woman or the female sex in general are not and must not be seen as mere toys or objects for gratifying man’s animal sexual instinct. Her place is not in or on the bed. The woman has a loftier and more sublime role for which, by virtue of her being, of her womanliness, she is destined by the Lord.
By this Commandment, man is warned against lusting after the female sex in general and not only after his neighbour’s wife if the earth is to regain its health and harmony.
Honourable wooing however is permitted by the Law. But even this should be underpinned by true love of the soul.
However, as soon as man has the opportunity, his thoughts start running riot and by this, he awakens the natural instinct within him. Thus, opportunity is the key word here.
Therefore, the best way to restrain man from the violation of this Commandment, from actualising his wrong motive, is to prevent him from the opportunity of being alone together with a female.
The best guarantee is never to allow two physically matured persons of opposite sex to be alone together as this is too tempting.
The frightening consequence is that this glamorisation of the natural sexual instinct and its promotion above every other pursuit or goal, above all else, has diverted mankind from our main task on earth.
Our sole task of seeking, serving and swinging in the Holy Will of the Lord as the only guarantee for our peace, happiness and harmony. Of striving to turn this earth into Paradise where only the Will of the Lord prevails, where true beauty exists and where every breath of all men and women expresses reverence and true Worship of the only One, the Almighty Father.
