Some of the most moving stories of suffering ever told relate to the plight of both adults and children affected by the Aids epidemic.  Billions of dollars are being spent on research and treatment in efforts to halt this dreaded plague, but the casualties keep mounting and the carnage continues.

HIV infections are especially rampant in Africa, destroying families and orphaning millions of children.  But, it is also in Africa that the greatest success story in fighting aids is being told.  Uganda has become the pacesetter for the world in preventing and conquering this dreaded disease.

In 1991, fifteen percent of Ugandans were infected with Aids.  Today that number has been reduced to five percent. No other nation has experienced this kind of success in fighting the spread of Aids.

What caused this dramatic turnaround?  An aggressive national strategy that calls citizens back to basics: sexual abstinence before marriage and faithfulness afterward.

Many have long been calling for this kind of an approach to the Aids tragedy.  More than a decade ago, in this column, I called for a return to the standards of sexual morality found in the Bible, saying this would make the Aids plague one of the shortest in history.

Sound too simple?

That’s what best-selling author and radio minister Chuck Swindoll wondered to himself while preparing his column “Think It Over…Aids”   Then he wrote:

“Ever get the feeling that you have a simple answer to a problem, but you’re wondering how come nobody else has mentioned it?  Maybe you don’t understand all the facts, you think.  Or maybe your answer is too simple, you wonder.  Then again, maybe it is so basic it’s being overlooked by those who are focusing so tightly on the problem.  Perhaps they’ve made the thing too complicated.  Whatever, I’m unable to stay quiet any longer. The tragic problem is Aids.

“No, on second thought, Aids is the result of a deeper problem – promiscuity, which is another word for sexual immorality.”

The Aids problem has been compounded by the lingering effects of the sexual revolution, a movement that called for throwing off all sexual restraints.  If you wonder about the legacy of this disastrous development just consider today’s television fare: one-night stands are expected and adultery is accepted.  Think of the negative effects of this immoral brainwashing.

We’ve let down the barriers of decency and a destroyer has rushed in.

Thankfully, forgiveness and change are possible.  A genuine spiritual awakening would give priority to this good news and change the moral climate of our time.

Imagine a world without Aids.

It’s possible through divine aid.

This great news ought to send us to our knees and into our churches to pray for a genuine spiritual awakening that would restore Biblical morality, make adultery unacceptable, and create marriage bonds that are inviolate for life.  Imagine what this would do for our children, our health, and future generations.  Imagine!