Greetings!
No lies, things are hard and are getting harder on a daily basis, and there are a lot of activities (both compulsory and necessary) that, if put on pause or removed finally in these hard times, would somehow ease off man's choking lifestyle.
Disclaimer: Before you read further, this article contains a controversial take on a religious lifestyle, and it's definitely against your stance. So you can stop reading from here. Also, before I get bashed, I'm a Christian, a very committed one with my in-heart service to God and my physical output also as an usher, just like most of you know. I understand the concept of giving offerings and other financial obligations and am fully into them.
Okay, like we know, life is hard now for the average human in Nigeria. What if things like offering and giving in general in religious houses were scrapped? Don't you think the life of a man would be somewhat relieved to an extent? ...People are boldly taxed heavily these days all in the name of giving to God
If you look out there, there are a lot of people who no longer fancy serving their God in religious houses because they consider the numerous offerings in some places too much, and as such, it's hard for them to pull out such amounts to visit the ground two or three times a week.
Last Sunday that just passed, after I had dressed up and was ready to leave for church, I got a prompt to call Precious, one of our unit members who has not been in church for a long while. I wanted to ask her why she hasn't been coming to church and beg her to come with me.
"My brother, I'm too broke this period and you know, going to church a day will take almost N1,500 (transport and offering)," she responded, and I fully understood her because our side is far from the church and transportation alone would cost almost N800 to and fro.
One can't go to church without offering. It's not like one can't go to church without offering, but it'll look somehow, at least within one's heart, that it's good to appear before the Lord with something in hand.
Okay, before you go ahead to criticize her, the truth is that there are a lot of people out there that, once they don't have money for offering for a church service, it'll be a bad feeling for them. Do you blame them? No. It is the kind of sermon they've been fed, and that settles in their mind.
I know how much I spend on the days I go to church within the week (at least twice a week), and hey, it's very big.
Currently, one of my neighbors doesn't go to church, and anytime he sees me dressing for church or coming back, he always applauds me, saying I'm trying for my regular spending to church almost four times a week.
If religious houses were made in such a way that people could come and worship their God without the compulsory giving, it would move a lot of people to improve their spiritual lives.
I know you'll say giving is never compulsory in religious houses. In case you don't know, most of these religious houses make their sermons about giving as compulsory as anything, and the day you don't have, your mind will start judging you like you're committing a sin.
I beg to stop here to limit the bashing and endless sermons I would get.
Thank you for reading.
** This is my entry to Hivenaija prompt of the week**