WE ARE living in serious times. World conditions unmistakably declare that time is fast running out! The cup of iniquity is almost full. The desperate need of helpless, hopeless men and women leads them to grasp at straws. The whole creation groans. MISSION '72 has called for world revival to prepare for the latter rain of the Holy Spirit. The night is far spent, and the day is at hand. We can no longer delay. God requires us to repent and be sanctified. We need to be channels of God's love and mercy to a perishing world.
A recent study by Dr. Ross Matthews, of Harvard, was reported to the American College of Physicians. The report stated that in one year 100,000 college students in North America threatened suicide. Ten thousand actually tried it, and one thou sand succeeded. The report stated that critical factors were human isolation and withdrawal. It could be reasonably assumed that pressure of school requirements and home problems would be high on the list of causative factors.
An Alarming Situation
The February, 1972, issue of a respected national journal ran an article "Love Me, Love My Wife." It was a report on group sex activities in one of our most important cities. The writer quotes from a book on "swinging" just published, which says that an estimate of three thousand swinging couples in this one city would be conservative. A woman reputed to have experience in this field says the figure would be nearer five thousand.
A recent issue of a swingers' magazine, it is reported, carried fifty advertisements from couples who wanted to swing and several hundred from single men and women who wanted to meet other swingers. Large parties for swinging are said to be held periodically at city area motels. One hundred attended a recent "social." Someone stated that five to fifteen parties are held each week in the city area referred to with attendance around fifty persons. It is said that of these persons there are those "whose sexual appetites have taken them far beyond what used to be known as 'wife swapping' and code words are used to identify the desires of the advertiser in the swing magazines. "French" stands for fellatio and cunnilingus; "versatile" means the wife enjoys Lesbianism; "nothing way out" means that they are not eager to meet sadomasochists, transvestites, male homosexuals, pederasts, onanists, pedophiles, et cetera.
Being Frank
To spell this out is being very frank indeed, but, brethren, we must be aware of what really is going on. There is a very interesting side light. Swinging parents resent the thought that their children would follow them in the path. The researcher stated, " 'I ask Susan if she would want her children to grow up to be swingers. The question seems to shock her.' 'No, I certainly don't. I mean, there are certain things you don't have control over, and it may happen, but I'd never encourage it. We've tried to give them a pretty conventional upbringing.' "
One can expect that with such a sordid picture of moral collapse VD is running rampant. One authority suggests that it has reached pandemic proportions. An article in a recent national magazine presents it as a critical and threatening issue. Because of unreported cases of VD, no one knows the true extent of this serious health threat to our North American population. One thing we do know: VD affects a highly significant proportion of the population. Those who have to do with both morality and health are justly alarmed. It is true that some controls are available with antibiotics, et cetera, but the tragic results are still all too evident with the heartbreak that accompanies them.
Save That Home!
When we turn to home situations, the story is just as arresting. No one anywhere will doubt the serious deterioration in domestic stability. The enemy of souls is aware that "the heart of the community, of the church, and of the nation is the household" and that "the success of the church . . . depend[s] upon home influences." --The Adventist Home, p. 15. He knows all too well that "the greatest evidence of the power of Christianity that can be presented to the world is a well-ordered, well-disciplined family. This will recommend the truth as nothing else can, for it is a living witness of its practical power upon the heart." --Ibid., p. 32.
Therefore, he is marshaling his forces to destroy our homes. We need to reorganize our resources to do all within our power not only to resist his attacks but to fortify our home defenses. We need a revival of family worship. There needs to be time for togetherness. There must be a conscious effort to let God's Word and the Holy Spirit rule in our homes. There must be time for discussion of the right things. We must place the interest of our homes above all lesser claims upon us. We need to study together as workers how best we can work for our homes. We need a revival of the Elijah message. The strength of any movement is related to the stability of its homes. MISSION '72 is a time for serious revival of godliness in our homes.