I have observed with unease the rate at which the younger generation take on men of God with such disdain and condescending attitude – probably because they expect no rebuttals and often get away with whatever misleading and primitive treatise they put out there.
But then again I have come to understand that people tend to trivialize Christianity and its accompanying rituals not because it is irrational but it challenges their status quo or inconveniences them. These attacks primarily has been on pastors from this part of the world-Africa.
Without provocation, they treat African pastors with scoffs, scorns and contumelious taunts. Like any human institution, the church does not claim to be flawless and like very few human groups, we are relentless in our pursuit for perfection. Organizations which boast of strict regulations and state of the art intelligence and security programs are not spared numerous cases of impersonation-yet, they are trusted to deliver their core mandate to the public.
Anyone who prefixes his name with PASTOR is automatically perceived as a man of God and rightly so because authenticating such claims goes beyond mere physical examination or requesting academic transcripts as prove. But for the introduction of the internet, mainly social media, the church would have been oblivious to certain abominable acts which are perpetuated in the name of God.
A fake doctor is apprehended and the medical society is applauded for weeding out the bad nuts but a ‘fake’ pastor is arrested and suddenly our supposed scholars start blaring about why they never go to church.
Their sudden ruthless position only seems to suggest that they now have a justification to luxuriate in whatever sin without their conscience breathing down their necks. It’s like refusing medical care at the point of death because fake doctors are on the rise.
My focus today however is how people try to belittle the entire fraternity of African pastors and tag them as unintelligent because of the questionable attitude of a few. On what basis do they call these noble men unintelligent? I am yet to find out. You pride yourself for being analytical because you supposedly make meaningful contributions to trending issues and you think that qualifies you to make assessment on the intelligence of people?
I have witnessed men drop 5-digit salary jobs to pursue the work of God. I have seen men without any formal education mend broken marriages and relationships than most trained psychologists and counsellors.
I have seen men with no career experience provide career guidance to many with countless success stories. Men who barely completed senior high school have become a flare of hope to many. These men leave the comfort of city life to rescue the lost and perishing in the hinterlands not only with the word of God but their own resources. Some even go as far feeding and clothing families until they are able to get back on their feet.
Just these few illustrations goes to tell you that there is more to this life than academic qualification and pomposity – stuff you will never understand until you have an encounter with the truth which is embedded in the word of God.
Followers of these great men are not spared the backlash either. Great businessmen, entrepreneurs and professionals with all the luxuries of life imaginable submit themselves under spiritual authority because they understand there are deeper things beyond the natural.
These well meaning Christians are criticized as ignorant and lazy for spending hours in church, praying and blessing the church with their wealth. You think prayer is for lazy folks? I invite you to our prayer meetings on Fridays.
Christianity in itself is hard work, if not, why are you trying so hard to trivialize it? As far as I am concerned, hard work is a prerequisite for being a good Christian. They say the likes of Warren Buffet did not get wealthy with our kind of lifestyle. How people have insight into spiritual matters of such men remains a mystery.
With such knowledge then, we wish the very best in your quest for Buffet’s kind of wealth through hard work. In any case, how does our supposed ignorant lifestyle serve as a hindrance to your prosperity?
We can’t impose repentance on you, neither are we encumbered by your incessant attacks but we will continue to pray for you. But in case you harden your heart to persistently deny God, well, we still wish you victory in life but in the end, make sure it is not a regrettable one.
