| Only gullible christians
chase after miracles
By TESSY OKOYE
Wednesday, April
25, 2007
 |
• Taye Ige
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
|
Taye Ige, a TV sports presenter and analyst, advocates that
people should recognise the need to appreciate God every minute of their lives.
Moreover,
he argues that when a person has a proper understanding of the ways of God, then,
it would become near impossible for the person to be deceived. For this reason
he advises that every christian should be guided the clear precepts of the Bible.
The seasoned journalist who is the brain behind HotSport Communication
outfit notes that churches should concentrate more on making life meaningful for
the needy. He supports efforts by some christians to get elected into positions
of authority and governance. He says that electing christians would be a good
development that amounts to putting square pegs in square holes.
Relationship
with God
First, I believe that without the creator of heaven and earth,
we would not be. When we sit to think about the number of people who would have
given up the ghost or are maimed for life between the time we wake up in the morning
and when it takes us to prepare for work, we would appreciate God and understand
why we are special to Him.
I don’t believe so much in dedicating
special time for prayers. I believe that it should be an every minute affair.
Every second and minute should be used to appreciate God.
I have had cause
to employ my classmates. These are people older than me, and better professionals
by all standards, but it pleased God to make me what I am, and I must continue
to reverence him. Every moment I live is used to recognise his pre-eminence.
Devotion
time
My idea of relating with God is an every minute thing in the
mind. Thanking and putting petitions before Him. There are certain things I cannot
condole in my office. Things like reading the Bible during office hours. You find
out that it is within these productive hours, that you find people in the church.
But then, we must always pray to God not to give us temptations beyond our strength.
Sometimes God needs to step into lives to liberate them from the clutches of people
that are taking advantage of their misery. I leave the entire aspect of Bible
reading to my pastor when I go to Church.
Churches without foundation
Just
like they are called mushroom churches, they are without foundation. They capitalise
on people’s misery, predicament, and the fact that there is hardship to
defraud them. Nigerians too are to be blamed, because they have the habit of trooping
anywhere they hear miracle is being performed.
I am not against where anyone
chooses to worship. Moreover, I attend Anglican Church and would have no reason
to step out of faith. Beyond helping to structure people’s relationship
with God, orthodox churches engage in a lot of social responsibility initiatives
geared towards giving new lease of life to the less privileged.
The other
day, I visited an eye hospital built and managed by the Catholics in Agege, and
there were hundreds of people being catered for at an affordable rate. Churches
should have the needy as their focal point. The main foundation of any religion
should be the strong for weak. It should be more of welfare, where the strong
prop up the weak. But the target or interest of most worship centres is your 10
percent. The issue of tithe is between me and my God. I have seen situations where
a pastor would stand on the pulpit and say he wants ten people to give him five
million each. Surprisingly, you would see people falling over themselves to do
that. Maybe they do that because of the glamour, but I believe it all amounts
to vanity. All these would not go unanswered on the last day.
Christians
in politics
Every bad ruler in government is there because the good
ones have failed to step forward. There are lots of biblical instances and situations
encouraging christians to go into positions of leadership. It is something desirable
for christians to be part of national political agenda setters and decision making
bodies. So if a Christian is led into politics, it is good. But the only thing
is for them to get there and make a difference rather than get swallowed by the
environment.
Miracles
That is the slang used to enslave
the lives of people. I believe God exists to give good things to His people. The
Bible says that all plants are fully watered and increase comes from God. If an
individual has medical situation, necessary medical steps must be taken, cushioned
by prayers for the medication to be successful.
You cannot have ulcer or
headache and be fasting. It would worsen the situation. Some situations require
some level of nutrients from the body. And by the time you deny the body such
nutrient because you are expecting a miracle, the rest can better be imagined.
God created medical practitioners and endowed them with knowledge, that is why
hospitals have inscription such as, ‘we care but God heals’. He is
the only one that can make it happen. Even some churches recognize the importance
of medical attention, and would advice you to visit the church clinic.
The
Bible standard
Heaven and hell are real, that is why the Bible enjoins
us to do good here on earth, so as to inherit the kingdom of God. Christians should
open their eyes and let the Bible remain their standard in everything. The Bible
is the standard of faith; it is the book given to us by God to guide our conduct
and relationships. He has given us knowledge to discern good from bad. So we should
not allow people to tell us things in variance with its dictates. |
