Speaking at the convention of Victory Life Bible Church International in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, said that the activities of church leaders are contributing to the rampant cases of corruption across the country.
“There is no doubt that all our institutions have been tarnished by the brush of corruption,” Mr. Obasanjo, said In his speech titled ‘The Role of the Church in the Fight Against Corruption in Nigeria.” according to him, below are the 5 Ways Nigerian Churches Are Encouraging Corruption.
1. Their Love For Money
The behaviour of some of our men of God leaves much to be desired
“They not only celebrate but venerate those whose sources of wealth are questionable. They accept gifts (offering) from just anybody without asking questions. This gives the impression that anything is acceptable in the house of God.
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2. By not following the scripture
Accirding to the bible, when Jesus came to the temple and saw people buying and selling, he chased them out
“But if Jesus can chase out those buying and selling from the temple with the declaration that, ‘My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves,’ why then should our pastors turn our churches into a den of thieves. it is time to stand up against corruption.”
3. Prosperity messages
The Church, as an institution, should start focusing more on salvation and less on prosperity.
Obasanjo also advocated that prosperity messages be preached with caution and moderation.
“Our present day ‘money changers’ and ‘merchants’ must be chased out of the Church and put to shame in the larger society.
4. Preposterous preachings
“While miracles, signs and wonders are the expectations of true believers, such must be based on righteousness. To preach that one can acquire wealth without labour is not only deceitful; it is a call to corruption. It is false preaching and it is sinful.
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5. Celebrating testimonies of miraculous blessings
Theres a thin line between miraculous blessing and corruption.
“We must be careful in believing and celebrating every testimony of miraculous blessing, hence we end up being hoodwinked into celebrating corruption.” he said.
Source: Premiumtimesng
