ROGUES IN PRIESTLY GARMENTS!

Yesterday, I was at my clothier’s office to fix some things for 2009. Upon entering, I met some kind of discuss on religion. Once the guys noticed my presence, the discuss got heated, I guess this was because some of the folks in my clothier's office had come to appreciate my stand on issues of religion, and by inference, my faith. Guess what? The whole debate was on modern-day ‘Pastors’ and their 'antics!'

Several issues were raised. Heard from the folks how a certain ‘pastor’ was arrested and he allegedly confessed to being the leader of a gang of notorious armed robbers. Another was said to be the backbone of a cartel specialized in car snatching!

The folks also talked about certain ‘pastors’ who they say practically extort money from their congregation.

As I made to sit, one of the folks turned towards me and said: “Imagine! When a pastor knows that the monthly income of his follower is not more than One Hundred Thousand Naira, he still doesn’t raise any eye-brow when such a person brings a ‘seed’ of Five Million naira to him...”

They went on and on. As I made to leave, one of the men, who obviously had come from a nearby shop, made a remark that struck me: “If not that some of us have personal revelation and relationship of and with God, we would have long doubted if God truly exists, taking into cognizance all the fraud perpetuated by these self-styled ‘clergy men’...”

Folks, nothing these guys said was new to me. My only embarrassment was that they also know what was happening within the 'house'.

I am a 'church boy' and also a proud worker in the body of Christ. Thus, if I am really truthful, I should own up to knowing what’s happening within the ‘house’ and shouldn’t be plastic about it.

I have always spoken about certain current practices in the body of Christ and how it was negatively affecting society and several innocent believers of Christ alike. Like I told a friend, it seems to me that those who have failed in various vocations and professions have finally resorted to being ‘pastors’. God’s work is now handled with the approach of a ‘vocation’.

The general notion is that the days are long gone when ‘God’ called people into ministry. Now, you can call yourself into. It is now a game, and the man with the best tongue and manipulation is mostly likely to get into prominence. It is now sheer fraud and deception!

Today’s ‘pastors’ don’t and can’t speak the truth anymore. It is no longer God’s word; it is now our ‘word’. We no longer have ‘Men of God’ but ‘Men of the People’. Why will they even speak the truth when they have no moral standing to do so! It is now all about the money and the fame, as against being examples and a standard for others to live by.
For this present generation of ‘pastors’, God can stay in Heaven for all they care and whatever will be on judgement day, let it be! Instead of being worried about the effect of failing in ministry, they are worried about the effects of failing in life!

We know of a lot of churches happily patronized by fraudsters, not because they are sure of being transformed or gaining salvation, but the ‘pastor’ of this local assembly has a reputation of ‘blessing’ the “works of their hands”. There are certain churches fraudsters won’t attend. This is because they know the pastor will always hit them below the belt. But, these new wave self-styled ‘pastors’ don’t see anything wrong in their choice of vocation. A ‘pastor’ was quoted to have told his congregation: “I have seen and tasted poverty, I know what it means to be miserably poor... DO EVERYTHING you can to make money, provided you don’t kill anybody...”
Hear a ‘pastor’s’ counsel to his flocks: “DO ANYTHING TO GET MONEY!” Little wonder, an ample number of his congregation are purportedly internet fraudsters! According to one of them: “his prayer works like magic... once he prays for me and I get on the internet to chat, it works like an enchantment! But, I make sure after ‘pastor’ touches my hand, I don’t have any handshake with anybody until after using the internet...”

Where on earth has the fear of God exiled to? Where do these superficial ‘pastors’ get their guts from? We know He is rich in Mercy, but can’t God do anything about this particular issue? I mean, His name is being ridiculed here!

I am scared and worried! This is for the reason that every priest has followers, irrespective of whether he is genuine or not. My worry is what the 'false prophets' are doing to their innocent ‘flocks’ and what they are becoming due to their self-seeking and warped view of the real God.

To my mind, what has turned ‘church’ into what it is today is as a result of the craving and demand from the people for certain forms of magic.

Everybody likes a ‘miracle’ pastor. Everybody likes a ‘prophetic’ pastor. Everybody likes a ‘prosperity’ preacher. While there is nothing wrong in this, the approach is wrong. If you are neither of these, you may not go far in this present age. It seems to me like these are the demands of the ‘profession’.

The cravings of the people are; the desire to get rich, the ability to be healed of any physical or spiritual ailment, the desire to be rich and also the power to “kill your enemies”.

Quite naturally, any man who can promise them any of these will capture their hearts and their physical presence, including their pockets. This is one reason ‘pastors’ seek ‘powers’ by all means possible. While some run to God, others return to their master, the devil. Certainly, what the fool teaches them are tricks and deception.

I ask: “why can’t those in the latter group just come out plain and allow themselves gain easy identification as ‘native doctors’? Why use the devil's deception and camouflage with God’s garments?”

So much evil is being done using the name of the Lord as cover, and lots of people are being misdirected. In my own little thoughts, I ask: “why would God wait till ‘judgement day’?”

Certain ‘pastors’ are capitalizing on the vulnerability of people to exploit them. Is there another definition for define deceit? Not too long, there was this issue of how some children in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria, were being branded as “witch children” by some of these self-professing ‘pastors’.

Unsurprisingly, there were some ‘pastors’ who claimed they could ‘cure’ them. Guess what? The 'cure' wasn’t coming FREE! Some of these pastors charged between One Hundred Thousand Naira and Four Hundred Thousand Naira. I like to call these ‘pastors’: the bigger witches!

In the event that the parents of these ‘witch-children’ cannot pay for the deliverance, the ‘cured’ children are kept back with these ‘witch-curing pastors’ to act as slaves to them, until the hapless parents’ can gather the money for their final freedom.

I wonder! I wonder!! How did we get here? What sort of mess is this? Is this what the younger generation will take after? Obviously, it is going to get out of proportion if they do! How do we get out of these muddle we have dragged the Christian faith into? What is the function of the various Christian bodies? Are the leaders ‘pure’ themselves?

More than ever, we need divine intervention. We must get rid of every rogue in priestly garment!