Freedom Come Rain

“Loose” living uptown A fictional story The circumstances in which I was born, more specifically, the dynamics of my family (a small, single-parent home with five children) and especially our address, were less than ideal to me. I despised it all. However, when my mother accepted Christ and I witnessed her transformation from a sinner to a saint, this gave me hope and made me a believer (literally). I too received the salvation of Jesus Christ and began actively serving in our church. This caught the attention of my pastor, who somewhat adopted me and allowed me to occasionally stay at his house, especially during the season of CSEC exams. If I had my way, I would have preferred to be a permanent part of his family. I thought his son Kevin was extremely privileged, for not only was his father a remarkable pastor, but he was present in his life and even afforded him the opportunity to study abroad at a prominent university. However, for some reason, from my few moments of interacting with Kevin, when he was on holiday from school, I noticed he only showed interest in music and was quiet and moody. One particular summer, I was spending time at Pastor’s home, as he and his wife had gone overseas for an annual two-week conference. It was a welcome relief, as I got to escape the environment I lived in, and it afforded me the chance to interact more with friends. Once again, Kevin was on summer break, and he decided to teach me to play the keyboard. I was given access to all the facilities of the home, and I utilised the internet most of all, researching mostly music and cars. Things went well for the first two days after Pastor’s departure, but then I noticed that Kevin was constantly browsing some very questionable websites. This made me uncomfortable, but I didn’t know what to do. He was constantly on his phone, and his friend Simone visited regularly. Soon enough, the keyboard lessons ceased as Kevin became occupied with either his phone or with Simone in his room. Things grew worse—Simone started sleeping over and Kevin began to smoke, something I had never seen him do before. Uneasy and disappointed with his behaviour, I realised that he was moody and defensive so I was clueless as to how to confront him. In my mind, I was thinking that he should know better! I am the visitor here! Then he took an even greater downward step when he decided to plan a night out at the club. That's when I realised things were really spiralling out of control. The lifestyle Kevin was indulging in was the one I had escaped from in the ghetto…for a better one. Kevin had everything I wished for, yet he was living out the former me! To further aggravate the situation, he invited me to the club and further proceeded to set up a date for me with Candace, a young lady who lived next door. He certainly disrespected my new commitment to God. This made me so angry that I couldn't even figure that this was Kevin's silent but desperate plea for help, which became quite obvious when he actually brought home a skimpily-dressed Candace. I realised right then that even though this was not my home, there was no excuse for my passivity in addressing the matter. In my heart, I began to reason that since I was the one seeing all of this, then I really should either confront him or call his father; yet I remained indecisive. My selfishness and love for the comfort zone (escaping my home and life in the ghetto) caused me to think twice about confronting Kevin, because I feared the outcome. I was concerned that doing so might reduce my future chances of staying at Pastor's house, which, compared to mine, was like living in heaven. Still, I was plagued with the question: if I compromised, what would be the real cost? I could say no to all my friends back home who wanted me to go to Passa Passa (a dancehall party in the streets) and the like. In fact, after a while they stopped asking me because they knew my answer, yet the no to Kevin's invitation seemed to be a big struggle. Still, deep down inside I knew that going along with his schemes was a definite negative for me – I had been there, done that, and wanted no more of it. It was at this crossroad that I learnt once more that choices really impact one’s destiny. With this tug-of-war in my mind, I saw the need to do some serious introspection and prayer! My mind went back to a story—so powerfully told at Youth Meeting—about the Bible character Joseph, who stood up for what he believed in, regardless of the consequences. The thought hit me, "If Joseph could do it, so could I!" God is the one who will always take care of me. By the very next day, I went to Kevin and confronted him about his behaviour. I told him of my expectations for him to be a role model and shared my disappointment and disapproval of his present lifestyle. COMMENTARY: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. Proverbs 16:8 The main character in this story has finally made the right choice in responding to Kevin’s wayward behaviour. Staying silent would be a detriment to both him and Kevin. We ought not to withhold truth in unrighteousness, and should the person we are called to tell the truth to perish in their sins, God will hold us accountable. Young people, we must embrace the fact that if we want to live godly lives, we will suffer some things – rejection, persecution, loss, etc. Now that Godliness has been exercised in this matter, what’s next? Join us next week when we conclude this fictitious story from Passion and Purity, a school-based Christian ministry.

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