Árdís - 01.01.1964, Side 21

Ársrit Bandalags lúterskra kvenna
19
One of the many privileges is that of going to public bars
and lounges. Gone are the days when the poor woman has to sit
at home, while her husband goes out to drink. Now she can go
out and drink too, leaving the worries of motherhood to a baby
sitter. The effect this freedom has had on morals and family life,
will not be seen fully in this generation. Future generations will
suffer if something is not done to change our mode of living.
People talk about junior delinquents, and are appalled at the
youth of today. But, who sets the examples? What freedom are
we gaining by bringing ourselves down to the level of men’s
morals?
The hope of the future rests with the women. They must
raise the standards. From the beginning of time women have been
the inspiration of men, they have given them the incentive to
reach the top. They will not do so by lowering their standards.
The women bear the children and on their shoulders rests the
main responsibility of teaching and guiding them. No law of
equality can ever change that fact.
The third message the Book of Ruth brings us, is the message
of tolerance in our daily living. That first and foremost has to be
learned in the home. Never think for a minute that it was not
hard for Naomi to accept Ruth as a daughter-in-law, or for Ruth
to change her way of life by going with her to a strange land.
There had to be a lot of give and take before they learned to love
and trust each other. If the lesson of tolerance can be learned in
the home it will extend to others. Only by accepting people as
they are, and learning to live with them in spite of their faults
can we possibly succeed.
In this big land of ours, with all the conglomeration of nation-
alities, tolerance is indeed a very difficult lesson to learn. It cannot
be applied fully until we are willing to live by the commandment,
“Love thy neighbour as thyself”. I do not think any of us will
live to see the day when that commandment is kept by the
majority of our nations. However, we can work towards that goal.
This message of tolerance embraces so many things. We are
not only expected to accept people of different color and creeds,
we are to love them. We are to keep an open mind, and respect
their opinions. In short, honour the dignity of every human being