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Mis-Guided Girl Guides?


Even while I am traveling internationally, a furour back in Australia has caught my attention. The Australian ‘Girl Guides,’ the female counterpart to the ‘Boys Scouts,’ has adopted a new pledge.
Have a look and see for yourself:
Old Promise “I promise that I will do my best: To do my duty to God, to serve the Queen and my country; To help other people; and To keep the Guide Law.”
New Promise: “I promise that I will do my best: To be true to myself and develop my beliefs To serve my community and Australia And live by the Guide Law.”
The major change in the promise is the removal of ‘God’ and ‘The Queen.’ This is no small omission. To understand the significant shift of emphasis reflected in this new promise, it is important to remember that Robert Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts in 1908, and Girl Guides in 1910 (along with his wife and sister). His goal was to instill values and character from the Bible and Christian faith. This is clearly reflected in the old promise yet it is completely lacking in the new. I think it is safe to say that Lord Baden-Powell would be horrified to see God removed from the promise.
Apparently, the scouting movement has been straying from Biblical Christian values for some time, so the change in wording should not come as a surprise. Secular, globalist, relativist, and postmodernist values are supplanting the Biblical ones.
Removing the reference to ‘The Queen’ is also a significant omission. A mature civic attitude understands that when we make reference to ‘The Queen,’ it is not just to a person who wears the Crown -- it is to the Crown itself. Be assured, we do have an ‘Australian Crown.’ This represents our system of government, our heritage, reserve powers, balance of power, basically, all the things that have given this nation over a century of stable, prosperous governance. The Crown does not just ‘reign’ over Australia ... it  is Australia. Fidelity to the Crown is expected from our members of Parliament, men and women in uniform, our judiciary, in other words, from key community leaders, whether they have republican or monarchist leanings. The Crown, as a proven, protective, and effective institution, deserves the loyalty of all Australians. If the Girl Guides are grooming young girls for future leadership, such loyalty to the Crown should be encouraged, not omitted from the oath.
With God’s removal from the Girl Guide’s pledge, what do we have in His place? ‘I will be true to myself and to my beliefs.’ While this seems like an innocuous statement, it can actually be unhealthy, even dangerous. Instead of focusing outward to those things greater than ourselves, like God and Crown, the emphasis is on the inward. Of all the ‘isms’ out there in the marketplace of ideology, clearly the worst of all is ‘self-ism.’ Whenever ‘Christianized’ or ‘western’ society removes Christ and the Bible as its foundation and focus, unbridled self comes flooding in. Self-ism encourages self-interest, self-absorption, self-centeredness, and bad, old-fashioned selfishness ... in essence, the unwholesome trio of ‘me, myself, and I.’ The interests of self take precedent over the interests of others. Those who get in the way of self will be dealt with ruthlessly.
From selfism comes narcissism, with an overwhelming preoccupation with self and image; often demanding attention, while simultaneously seducing and rejecting people. If you are interested in mature, responsible, sound leadership, the last thing you need is a self-centered narcissist. Unfortunately, however, this is exactly what we are getting at all levels of leadership. The new promise of the Girl’s Guide reinforces this unhealthy trend.
Jesus says it so well: For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it -- Mark 8:35 (KJV)  It’s true: people who consistently focus on their life and themselves are of all men most miserable; if they persist in this lifestyle, they will lose everything. Yet those who forget about themselves and focus on God and others, are blessed, joyful, and fulfilled.
Take God out of the equation, and even the best of intentions will turn to dust and ashes. Put God in the picture ... and you have a glorious future.

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