Friday, 24th December, 2021
Bible Reading: Leviticus 18: 7–18
Memory Verse: And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive. Romans 1:28 (AMP)
When a mother cannot leave her two teens of different sex together while she goes to the market, then, we need help. When a 15-year-old girl is two months pregnant for her father who is 75 years old then we need a divine assistance. Something is wrong somewhere. Sincerely, we must thank God for His longsuffering towards mankind whom He created. Incest refers to sexual relations between people classed as being too closely related. It refers to the crime of having sexual intercourse with a parent, child, sibling, uncle, aunt, or grandchild.
Stakeholders, including child rights activists, sociologists, lawyers and clerics have identified major factors behind the rising cases of incest. This include lack of traditional family values, moral decadence, broken homes, emotional imbalance, a shift in family roles due to poverty, ignorance, infiltration of western influences and negative attitudes amongst others. Economic hardship and the shift in the role of women are also contributory factors because fewer women now stay at home to watch over their children. Some people practice incest for spiritual purposes, money rituals, longevity or for fame.
Some mothers due to poverty and ignorance tell their daughters to keep quiet when they are being abused by their fathers. Unrestricted access to pornography through the internet could encourage siblings, who most of the time are left alone to engage in sexual intercourse. Lack of established family boundaries between members of the same family and close relatives is also another reason for this abomination. In Nigeria, The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015 in Section 25 criminalizes incest and prescribes a minimum of 10 years imprisonment without an option of fine, yet, this menace seems to be on the rise.
Victims of incest end up suffering depression as they live with the act throughout their lives without sharing such experiences with others. In conclusion, all hands must be on deck to ensure the sanity of our children. Parents should teach their children to be sensitive and to report foul moves from their close relatives or siblings. The government must not only enact laws against incest but must also openly punish it. Again, we need family, public and private sensitisation through the media, in our schools, and in all religious centres. Above all is the fear of God planted in our hearts as individuals, and collectively as a nation.
Quote: When the abnormal becomes very normal in a generation, then an evil spirit is involved.
Prophetic Decree: We curse the spirit of incest, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. We repent as individuals, families and as a nation, in Jesus name.
2. We break the backbone of incest in this generation, in Jesus name.
3. Spirit of sexual pollution, die, in Jesus name.
4. Holy Spirit, baptize this generation with the spirit of the fear of God and self-control, in Jesus name.
5. My children shall not be tagged children of Belial, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Timothy 1-4