God has given us the beautiful country in which we live. We live in a free
country. God has blessed us beyond measure. He has given us free choices to
make. What are we doing with those choices as citizens of PNG? Are we living our
lives to glorify Him? There are some responsibilities we must take more
seriously, to make our country better.I know we also have some problems that need to be solved. We must establish strong Christian families that produce citizens of great character. One of the problems that really is holding our country back from progressing is “Bride Price.” As we know from the Bible, God sent His only son to die for our sins. He paid for us. That includes both girls and boys. Therefore we are bought with a very high price already. In PNG girls are looked upon as merchandise. As a girl, I have certain rights and values that God gave me. He has a purpose for my life. He wants to see me achieve His purpose.
With the common mentality we have about girls, we will never rise above our social problems. We must let go of that wicked idea that girls can be bought, sold, used, mis-used, and abused by their buyers. Children are an heritage of the Lord; girls are precious just as boys are. They are both equal in the eyes of our loving Creator who created them. He gave us each different talents and purposes to fulfill in life. Besides the world could not go on with the help of girls.
Parents, look at your daughters as you look at your sons. They both should be precious to you. If you are a Christian parent, you should want the very best for your beautiful daughter. You shouldn’t be worrying about her bringing money into the family, but hope and pray that she gets married to a wonderful man, who will love, respect, honor, and cherish her with all his heart. That’s the way God intended it to be. Girls like to be loved, cherished, and to be appreciated. Therefore, I believe our families and our country would benefit if we did away with bride price altogether.
- Rachel Joy Hersman