By Nneka Okumazie
If anybody takes money belonging
to them to pay tithe in a Church, it is not the business of any other person.
The notion that one person somewhere who has nothing to do with people will say
where they can pay tithe is offensive.
Daddy Freeze is a typical
Nigerian whom having no role to play in the life of people or anything in
common with them, lectures them on what to do with themselves or their money.
Paying tithe is a personal decision and everyone who pays tithe knows that the
money is not taken to heaven. Many do it because of what they believe and some
do it because they want to support the Church voluntarily.
Daddy Freeze is on a bitter
campaign against the Church, he made the tithe topic become a national
conversation in Nigeria, speaking volume about the man and the country. Of
every problem in Nigeria, what matters to this man is tithing and the Church.
When you hear many of his
arguments, you will understand that his issue is against the real Head of the
Church. All his arguments will crumble under real debate. He said he cannot
criticize Islamic clerics because they do not have private jets. Well, private
jet is not the worst thing a Church leader can do because it is known and can
be useful for the organization and for hired transport, not just that leader.
In fact there are worst things
all kinds of religious clerics can do and no one will know. So if bad clerics
do not have private jets, are they good?
Daddy Freeze also said pastors
should use their private jets to airlift stranded Nigerians in Libya. No, it is
not only from Libya they will use their private jet to carry people, it is all
the illegal Nigerian immigrants living in Europe, America and other parts of
the world. What a senseless argument. Are pastors the only group in Nigeria who
have jets?
Do other private and public
sector figures not have jets? Why are they exempt but pastors?
Nobody says do not criticize, in
fact, there is no organization or public individual who is above criticism but
the matter is that if you want to be a smart critique, at least do not be
unfair.
A fair argument will be more
reasonable not folly spouted and hate directed at the Church.
Whatever the problem anybody has
with the Church in Nigeria, it is not the Church that is responsible for the
underdevelopment in Nigeria. Some say one Church has branches everywhere, SO?
what is wrong with that? and how did that cause fuel scarcity or no light, or
poverty or unemployment in Nigeria.
The Church is big and has lots of
members. There are Church members who have made their money licitly, and they
support the work. In fact there are few members responsible for more of the
projects in Church. And talking of projects, most Church buildings and assets
are developed over the years.
It is true that there are lots of
members in Church who are struggling financially, yes, and why should they
ignore the Church in that condition? They live in a country that instead of
getting better, it is not. And that mystery affecting them pushed some to
believe and just be hopeful in their condition.
Some of these people give 10
naira, 20 naira, or 50 naira in Church, some even return the envelopes empty,
and many skip tithing. These little amounts rarely make much difference even
for the poorest, so the notion that pastors survive on the money of the poor is
false.
Come to think of it, the Church
in Nigeria is a home of joy for some, where some find happiness, where they
feel like a family, where they learn, it is like a support group, for some it
is a place they get exposed, it is a place some get their minds out of problems
of their environment, it is a place where some are encouraged even with all the
problems around them, it is a place to be lawful through righteousness, it is a
place of prophetic positivity, it is a place some find hope. And because some
recognized this, branches are formed to be closer to new members and accommodate
new people. So it is this Church and some other true Churches in Nigeria that
is the problem of Daddy Freeze and his cronies.
And you watch suddenly how tithe
became a national conversation, national debate, tithe, contribution without
physical force or penalty, tithe. The Church of GOD is such an easy target for
criticism. Some Nigerians in diaspora will complain of the Church of GOD, as if
it is the Church that caused them to stay away. Others at home too will
complain, as if the Church is responsible for government responsibilities.
No one is campaigning in Nigeria
against online scams. Parents have lost their children to scams. There is no
known direct or indirect campaign or program in Nigeria to discourage new
scammers or change the heart of many. But NO, the main problem is tithe and the
Church.
Direct and indirect prostitution
in Nigeria have grown, many young girls in Universities or working will be
ready to offer themselves at a price to anyone. This is also aside from the
growing number of whore houses in Nigeria. But prostitution and venereal
disease are not the problem, Church and tithes are, OK.
In fact aside from paid workers
or staff, most true Churches have contributed more to individuals and growth in
Nigeria than many or most corporate organizations and state governments in
Nigeria. The major role of the Church is about the Kingdom of GOD and to let
the world know about Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Still, some Churches have done
lots of good, some have a great welfare department, give scholarships, hold
several events for the needy and more and more and a lot more.
Daddy Freeze said a Church should
go and pay tithe to the poor in the slums. Well, that is not the definition of
the tithing, and there is a lot done for these people, going to them, and those
who come, that is so private, not for show, or for the applause of haters who
can never be satisfied.
There is usually the argument
that children of poor Church members cannot afford to go to Universities owned
by Churches. This is not completely the case, but even if it is what people
believe, the best thing Church Universities can do for the country is not just
to let poor kids attend. After all children without rich parents go to state
and federal universities, but that education is not a sure key out of poverty.
Also, children from non-rich
backgrounds cannot afford other non-Church owned private Universities. So where
is the criticism for them?
So it is better when criticizing
to bring all under the same umbrella, that will be fair criticism, but if it is
Churches alone, you have a problem.
There are those who have
benefited much from being members of a Church. There is so much good done by
several Church of GOD parishes that no one hears about, and even if they choose
to do nothing, taxes and oil revenues are not paid to the Church.
Nigeria is a free country, if you
hate all the true Churches, go and open your own and tell your members you want
to build a bridge, or do the work of the Nigerian embassy in Libya or give
light to Nigeria. These are good goals and if you do with your Church, thank
you. But for the Church of GOD, this is not its primary mission.
Whatever you feel about the
Church of GOD, there are those who have genuinely repented, those who have
turned away from their wicked ways. So maybe people can ask Daddy Freeze if he
wants more prostitutes, more thieves, more scapegrace, more corruption in
Nigeria, and more darkness, as if the country has not enough.
Those who go to nightclubs and
spend large sums of money on alcohol are they OK to do that but those who pay
tithe in Churches should not?
As Churches grow and some
member’s lives are touched, with hope for a better morning, does he prefer that
entertainment takes over Nigeria, with short fun and emptiness.
In fact entertainment in Nigeria,
with lots of new generation vulgarian artists and terrible film plots,
entertainment is becoming a bigger problem. It is true that video, posters,
cinemas and audio quality has improved but contents are still so poor, rarely
worth remembering or qualified for high mark international stage.
It is vaguely similar to black
entertainment in the US, which they have focused especially on subpar contents,
making many of the fans so empty in a prosperous society and unable to make
anything big in corporate US.
Maybe there also need to be a
campaign against poor contents in Nigeria entertainment and to remove focus of
young people on all the time entertainment, but maybe nobody can champion this,
because entertainers will criticize back, and because they are not cheap
target, so are banks, oil companies, insurance, telecommunication companies,
lotto companies, contractors, some (corrupt) media, state governments and
others. Many of these organizations are not helping Nigeria get better, but no
one dare mentions them because they have great PR and great legal team, and
will starve the campaigners of income.
Daddy Freeze can criticize the
Church of GOD all he wants but the Church is not a culprit of Nigerian
underdevelopment, there are also fairer opinions towards development that could
make him a thoughtful hero for good change in Nigeria.
But if he and others, small or
mighty, continue to criticize the Church of GOD, they should remember that the
Church of GOD is marching ON and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.
True talk, a word is enough for the wise, he who have ear let him hear
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