The Negotiator

February is a festive month especially for those involved in the flowers and chocolates business; as well as those in hospitality industry. The huge cue in flower shops; the non-stop calls for hotel bookings; and also the sales over the net are remarkably boosted. Valentine’s Day is one of the most celebrated occasions in the whole world. Countries with cross-cultural influence from the West like the Philippines have been leaning heavily on commercializing this event.

Valentine’s Day celebration in Dubai is not different from the West since people residing here are mostly expatriates. Being the Gold capital of the world, it has a big share on the occasion through the newly-made Dubai Flower Center in Dubai International Airport – a hub for growth for the floriculture industry in the 21st century. Hotels with their fine dining activities capture couples and tourists, as well.

While walking with my sister in Riqqa Street (as what we normally do) on the eve of the Valentine’s Day, we have observed that most of the crowd are couples having their romantic dinner. A few days back, different government and non-government organizations marched along Al Riqqa Street to promote AIDS awareness. Too much commercialization of Valentine’s Day promotes sexual promiscuity to the youth leading to unwanted pregnancies and abortion. Valentines does not come only on a good bouquet of flowers, hearty chocolates and a sumptuous dinner; it also brings heart aches and suffering; Suffering in terms of the physical, spiritual, financial and most importantly, emotional.

V-day is good if it affects married couples by bringing them closer together through the romantic mood. But if promotes extramarital affairs, then it is not good. In my personal point of view, I think that husband and wife should stay together. There are so many broken vows nowadays. Sadly, people falsely assume that broken marriages are normal in Dubai even though it should be not. The rates of broken marriages as well as the number of fatherless kids are increasing. But what I fear most is the alarming increase on the sale of prohibited drugs that cater to abortion.

Let us pray that God will save these nations and that God will always bless us abundantly and give us our hearts’ desire. Not to desire on the things of the world but to crave for more of His Words. 

"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 18th, 2006 at 11:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.