Sexual Discourse

The other day in class, I asked my thirty adult students an important series of questions in response to one of theirs. “How do I explain homosexuality to a young child who asks me what the word means?” was their inquiry, and I had an inquest of my own to provide them with an adequate reply.

“Raise your hand if your parents taught you about sex.” The embarrassed smirks that grew on every face in the room explained immeasurably more than the absentia of arms. Even Peter (my interpreter, administrator, and fellow minister) leaned over and stated in a hushed tone, “That doesn’t happen in Africa.” I went on with my interrogation:

“How did you learn about the sexual relationship?” The obvious response was through peers, culture, entertainment, hearsay, and ultimately through personal experience at too young an age.

“How many of you have children?” The majority of the gathering shot up their hands. I knew that most of them had at least two, if not seven children, some of whom were grown with families of their own. “Have you ever spoken with your kids about sexuality?” Again, the muffled laughter and quiet murmuring testified of their abdicated responsibility they never knew they had.

I’ve been told that within this developing culture at the onset of the twenty-first-century, with all the information available on the deadly consequences of HIV/AIDS, it is still a literal miracle to find a virgin girl to marry. People can talk about faulty healthcare or other causes of the lethal virus, but to be real honest, the fountainhead of the killer disease is completely sexual immorality–largely spurred on by a traditional and popular culture that refuses to address the issue or talk frankly about what happens in every man and every woman from the onset of puberty.

Peter informed me that local schools are trying to implement sex education to provide understanding to counter the silence at home. Parents are resisting even this, without offering to do the work themselves. It’s just too secret and too shameful a topic. And so a new generation, untaught and unknowing, continues to follow its impulses at the cost of their lives.

As I went on to explain the role of the parent in the life of a growing youngster, the lights began to come on. By the end of our Q&A session, the class was applauding and making commitments to inform their children so as not to lose them in the end. Even Peter paused his interpretations to inform me that he would be sharing with his twelve year old son that very week.

But here remains multiplied millions of African parents with sealed lips, continuing this terrible trend towards physical and spiritual death. God have mercy, and raise up a Church of strong, healthy families that will preach and teach the truth!