"A Battlement for Thy Roof"

White Ribbon, Volume 25, Issue 1, 1 April 1953, Page 1

"A Battlement for Thy Roof"

Deuteronomy 22:8: "Winn thotl bllildest a mu house, thou shah make a battlement for th> roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, it any man tall from thence." Introduction How very suggestive i-* the picture, which this undent Mosaic building law conjures up befon us i he i astern nouses Hat and served iual purpose of providing an r drying rain, or an open-air parlour when coolnesj 01 rivacy iras sought, No doubt it was a delectable pot on a hot summer's evening yet, without .1 parapet, how dangerous it could prove! Experience * numerous accidents and tragedies caused b> •"pic faling otT the roof must have c\entuall> unstrained the ancient law-gner to promulgate injunction making it compulsory to build a hattlement around the roof. (Quote text.) \s ue study this conunonsense law we see that il was the householder's moral responsibility and houudesi duty to provide a battlement tor the ' rotection of any who might ascend to the rool top to do so would render !.,.n guilt) of the blood of tin person who night, perchance, tall from :lre roof.

(1) Responsibility to one's neighbour Thus wc sec enshrined in this ancient building aw a far-reaching principle which should govern all our hurran relationships, teaching as it does our moral responsibility and practical duty to our neighbour, ail of which is summed up and raised to its highest spiritual plain by our Messed Lord Hun ♦elf in the second of the Great Conunaifdmenti as ave it to us: "Thou shalt love thv neighbour < thyself."

How then shall m claim to be foll< I the Master, discharge our r isponsibility and duty to our neighbour and so fulfil the law of Christ? Again, the hous r with the battlements is ery suggestive.

2) Safe-guarding Parapets If is our responsibility and duty as Christians to build the parapets or battlements which safe-

(Preached by the Ven Archdeacon F Kirkham at the Dominion Convention Service, held at Blenheim, in the Church of the Nativit) Sunday, 15th March, 1953.)

guard human societ) from moral oorruption and spiritual tragedy, and particularly the youth and children of our land who will be the citizens ot tomorrow. Below, there is a yawning Knit from which arises the stench of those corruptions which .lie, on an increasing scale, rotting the soul pf our people We see moral slackness which is a sure sign o( irretigion and spiritual declension, in liberty degenerating into licentiousness impatient <.t all law and authority; and we see deliberate flouting of the law. But these general signs ol moral decay are hut symptomatic of two root evils in our nndst, namely the twin e\ils of gambling and Strong drink. These two things Constitute '^ deadl) cancerous growth that is gradually sapping the life blood and moral fibre of OUT national character and, if there is any truth in our religion and in the testimony of history, they will >ne\itabl> bring about our downfall as surely as the night follows the day unless a much greater and more determined effort is made by Christian people to grapple with the menace at its loot I ( almost makes one reel to contemplate the Staggering, astronomical sums that are being expended in this land each year on drink and gambling (a) The Drink Menace Over £23,000,000 was spent last year on drink alone. The moral wastage from this expenditure cannot be estimated as we try to think ot what i' means in degraded and ruined lives in whom the glorj of womanhood has been besmirched, the strength of manhood dissipated, the image ol d. Drunkenness il so very much a - sin having its repercussions on the lives of 10 many others Then think of the physical damage, which cannot be measured, in terms of broken health and homes, expenditure on hospitals and asylums and in death itself. The menace of the drunken dri\er has reached such alarming proportions today constitute by far our greatest road-traffic problem Perhaps the death and tragedy caused by tin drunken motorist will do more than anythin. to stir the public conscience and hustle the drink

traffic before the bar of hurran reason and moral justice. Science lias already condemned the MC of the drug alcohol in the most perfect machine in the world, the human body, but how slow people are to prohibit the mass spoiling of human life through the manufacture and distribution of this drug. (b) The Gambling Menace In regard to gambling no less than £*O,UOO,(H)O were spent last year, representing ?n expenditure of £4O per head of our population, from winch we see that gambling 19 ■ very widespread locial evil. And nothing is Mirer than that next year, hVures will be higher still, because we now have to contend with the T.A.B. agencies The effect of off-COUrx betting legislation has been to throw tin cloak of respectability o\er that which, in reality, is a social evil and, in doing so, to confront our people, and especially our youth, with what is now an open temptation, that would otherwise ha\e been confined to the comparative few who fraternise with book-makers. We shall live to rue the da\ we thoughtlessly voted for off-course betting unless such a feeling of revulsion sets in, as will constrain the government to repeal the legislation. Let us pray and work to this end that there will be a widespread revulsion of feeling against this newly created menace which will soon demand government action. This is just a glimpse of those twin evils which are increasingly responsible for so much physical damage, moral corruption, and spiritual tr. in our midst (3) Co-operation from all Christians needed In the face of these obvious evils the challenge comes to all Christians to co-operate in even possible way in a constructive effort to build tin moral and spiritual battlements that will save our weaker brethren from falling into the pit "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required," for if we neglect to build the then, if any man or woman fall, if am youth, if any child be caused to stumble, their blood will be required of us. A definite campaign is called for b> the Christian Church so that through the powei of the Holy Spirit and by means of temperance education the children and youth coming on will be spiritually strengthened and protected, and educationally enlightened as to these grave social evils. The battlements remind BS of the old adage that 'Prevention is better than cure." Far better to fence the top of the cliff than wait at the bottom with an ambulance to pick up the remains of those who topple over! The voting, especially, must be brought to know Christ as their own personal Saviour "Who is able to keep them from falling" and, in addition, thev most be enlightened by sound temperance teaching. (4) The lead of W.C.T.U. This is just where our friends of the W.C.T.U. are able to give us a lead for we cannot hope to cooperate effectively in this work of building the parapetf., unless we are organised, instructed and united as an efficient team The WC.T.I'., for over 67 years now, has been waging warfare against these entrenched evils, and, during that time, it much experience. Its members know that the parapets to be effective must be both spiritual and educational. They look largely to the organised Church of God to provide the spiritual resources and foundations while the) do much to provide the temperance education and

material, and give the government that prod wind, it repeatedly needs in regard to social evils. \\\ should thank God for all that the W ( T I'. h a > Ik en able to accomplish since its incepti grappling with these evils, and we should be prepared to do all we can to back them up. Thev arc the solid nucl* .s of the still larger teams that arc so urgently .ceded today to awak n the , conscience aid to mould public opinion a. evils that menace our national char, This Dominion Conference, which is being held in our midst, is a challenge to all of us, wli ourselves Christians, to do something about I jug the battlements that protect our moral Inintegrity of character. In particular, 1! con: the w«>nun of our Churches with a direct challengi to CO-Operatc in every way with the local 1•• of the W.C.T.U. Maybe you should becotiu active member. In am case, yon can pray for the work and give it a measure of financial Sttp| .: and you can acquaint yourselves with the concerning the evils with which they COI (Facts and educational material will l>e g provided by your local branches.) Do even you can to help them build the battlements may be the means of protecting you and > family from possible physical Areck, moral dlSi and spiritual tragedy. May God abundanth bles> the Convention continues to deliberate upon these weighty matters and as plans are made for the future earn; May you of the vanguard, who have already done so much to resist the enemy, be further strengthened and encouraged by the signs awakening national conscience which will raise it* voice with yours in demanding that tbei evils be eradicated and the way prepared return to that sobriety, Godliness and righteous nes> which can alone exalt a nation and people