Christy Anyanwu
A seminar, with the theme ‘Marriage the way God intended it to be,’ was held recently for single persons and married couples by The Redeemed Christian Church Of God (RCCG), Counselling Department, Lagos Province 20, Lekki Phase1.
Welcoming the participants, Pastor Mrs Stella Mofunanya, who represented the host pastor, Okey Mofunanya admonished the singles to remain focused as children of God, adding that those laughing at them would eventually celebrate with them.
The first speaker, Rev. Mrs. Abi Adebanjo spoke on ‘The Virtuous and Wise Woman.’ Quoting copiously from the Bible, she defined the woman as ‘What Our Men Are Not.’
“A good woman teaches and nurtures her children, spends money wisely, is always ready to support her husband, reduces her friends, must be sacrificial, virtuous, takes care of her body and cannot afford to be lazy. Sleeping from 9pm to 6am is not good enough for a woman because you have to wake up early for your family and children,” she declared.
Using the Biblical examples of Abigail, Esther and Leah, she asserted that no two marriages were the same. She enjoined the singles to start praying early for the kind of husbands they would want to have.
The guest minister, Pastor Bisi Adewale, President of College of Marital Success spoke on: ‘How to fulfil God’s intention in marriage.’ The cleric stated that a good marriage should be built on the right foundation.
“There’s no other foundation you can lay except by Christ Jesus. Hearing from God before choosing a life partner is important, but dating now is being copied from America. By the time a man is sleeping with you, he will not trust you in marriage. The more he sleeps with you, the more the law of diminishing returns creeps in,” the cleric declared.
He informed that God intended marriage to be a place of rest, regretting that people now feel at home more in their places of work than with their families. “To get the best for yourself, you are the one that will determine and fix your home as a place of rest,” he said.
The cleric also noted that contentment, prayer, unity, sex, money, time and kindness were very important ingredients in marriage. He enjoined couples to stop blaming their mothers-in-law when their marriages start going sour.
In her own remarks, Assistant Pastor Esther Oyero, the good women leader in the church, said the seminar was put together to look into the issues of how a woman could be virtuous, how a man should treat his wife and how the younger ones seeking to have a family should go about it.
Said she: “The seminar has been very enlightening. Even some of us that have been married for years learnt so much in this seminar. I’m happy the attendance is good and people are attentive. The seminar addressed the woman and also the man.”
Elder Josiah Ebhomiye said patience was important in marriage and relationships.
“You have to be patient. Learn how to communicate. You have to let your husband know what is disturbing you and you have to listen to each other. The single ones have to be careful. These days, there are lots of flashy things around and they must learn to be contented. You should also learn how to forgive. Once you imbibe these principles, you are bound to succeed in marriage. Men should also learn to compliment their wives,” he counselled.