Today, the patterns of leisure have changed and will continue changing in the foreseeable future.

The following are some of the leisure activities we have today:

Beer drinking and eating roasted meat and chicken.

Going for disco dances (at times with street prostitutes).

Read~ newspapers and magazines.

Listening to cassette music.

Bible reading, fellowshipping and preaching the gospel.

Watching video shows or television programmes

Playing football or netball, long jump, athletics etc. (b Writing newspaper articles.

Making trips, tours, pick nicks and evening walks.

Gambling and window shopping

Going for motor rallies, trade shows and fashion shows. Going for public lectures and seminars.

Miming, photographing and letter writing

Going for theatre and beauty contests .

New Leisure brings new problems

The youths are presented with too much leisure time, which has made the youths to hate work in favour of leisure. This too much leisure availed to the youths has become monotonous to them and they learn nothing from it. Hence, abusing Ieisure time.

There are a variety of activities, which has made some youths to fail to choose which leisure is proper for them. Some have gone in for blue movies which has led to moral decay.

The youths have ended up in night disco dances, which has led to irresponsible and illegal sexual intercourse. In this way they have abused leisure time.

The result of reckless sex is unwanted pregnancies, abortions, producing unwanted babies, contracting HIV AIDS, early deaths and so on.

Over drinking has become the order of the day among some youths. To this we add smoking of cigarettes and drug abuse. This is due to joining bad companions during leisure time. This is real abuse of leisure.

Modern leisure has made the youths rebellious to their parents at home and teachers at school. This is shown in the way they escape from home and dormitories at night and go for discos. This has led to conflicts between the youths and their parents and teachers at times this has led to dropping out of school.

Today's leisure activities require money or else one is left out. To get money, some youths have resorted to stealing their parents' money or selling home property to get money and in boarding schools they steal their friend's pocket money and property. All this is done in the name of enjoying leisure time. This is leisure abuse.

Some youths who fail to get money resort to "killing time" techniques. This is a situation whereby a person really has nothing to do and nowhere to go. So, he loiters all over the streets, moving from shop to shop just to kill time! This too is an abuse of leisure time.

Some people are so reckless that during their leisure time they lose a sense of shame and start speaking obscene words. This is at times due to bad group influence or drunkards.

To make matters worse, the love for money has made leisure makers to think about a11 sorts of activities to tap peoples' money during their free time. This has brought in beauty contests some of which have pulled big audiences to go and watch the nearly naked women. The nearly naked pictures on leisure magazines are another example, not to forget the dramatists who must dress indecently in order to attract clients!

Some people have lost respect for their age. Hence you find mature and responsible men and women in trans-night discos, daily video shows etc. This doesn't show respect for one's age and status. How can the young give up these activities when adults are also involved in them?

Today's leisure has made the youths to lose respect for their culture in favour of western cultures. Hence they dress in slit skirts, shorts, and cut funny hairstyles and keep on chewing orbit in an unhealthy manner. All these were not part of African culture.

Fighting has become common in most leisure centres. Accidents are also frequent due to over-drinking.

There is too much passive leisure today and this has reduced peoples' ability to do creative and constructive things during leisure time.

Today' s leisure has no respect for God's commandments. Hence people construct lodges purposely to encourage people to hide and seek God's commandments. Some of these lodges are clearly labelled as ''HIDE OUTS", Shameless Christians-go and hide there, hence evading God.

Music, dance and Drama

Theatre going is a very famous leisure activity. People go there to watch plays, concerts, and so on. Music dance and drama has the following good points.

It helps people to develop their talents .

It enables the artists to express their inner feelings to the public.

Drama can help a person watching it to change his or her behaviour for the better.

Those with various problems Can get consolation when they learn that problems are everywhere.

It helps people to spend their leisure time, relax their minds in preparation for the following day's work.

Those in political power can be given advice indirectly.

Through drama we learn about what is going on in the world around us.

Music, dance and drama is a channel through which our cultures can be preserved.

It is a source of income to the actors and owners of theatres.

Recommended ways for spending leisure time for Christians

Visiting friends to exchange ideas with them and strength relationships.

Joining Church choirs in order to come closer to God's presence during one's free tune.

Fellowshipping with fellow Christians and bible reading.

Doing charitable services for the needy. For example teaching adults how to read and write, repairing the houses of the elderly, clearing their compounds and so on.

Join Christian clubs in order to promote God's glory everywhere.

Attending seminars and public lectures to learn more about what is going on in the country or world in general. Watching football matches.

Reading newspapers, magazines such as KAWA focus on education, Leadership and listening to the good analytical radios.

Listening to Christian music and watching television programmes.

Preaching the gospel to make Jesus known everywhere.

A Christian should not forget to pray to God during his /her free time.

Joining games and sports in order to keep physically fit.

Comparing Leisure in the African Past with Leisure in the Present Situation

Similarities

Differences.

Today's leisure requires money if you, are to participate in it fully. On the other hand, African leisure activities were free of charge.

Traditional African Leisure activities were communally organised and enjoyed while today's leisure is rather individualistic. Each individual today organises and enjoys his or her free time in a self centred style.

There is lack of creativity in most of today's leisure activities. This has led to aimless leisure, yet in the past leisure activities were creative and meaningful.

Leisure in the African past was' geared towards promoting African cu1iunJ values unlike modern leisure, which only" undermines traditional African cultural values.

Most traditional leisure activities followed the natural rhythm of life, which, isn't the case today. Modem leisure is programmed and properly time tabled' e.g. on weekends.

Leisure time was limited in the African past. The little leisure time they had was used meaningfully. There was no time wasting. However today, there is unnecessarily too much leisure, most of which is meaningless and time wasting.

Leisure activities in the past were organised and closely supervised by elders unlike today when the young programme on their own with no supervision at all which has led to leisure time becoming a source of immorality. In the past, leisure time was a source of morality.