God shall never be sold out
Irish rock star Bono once said of the Catholic Church that it is “going to have to become the conscience of the free market if it is to have any meaning in this world, and stop being its apologist.”
Our world today boasts 7 billion inhabitants, of whom some 2 billion-plus are Christians. Like anybody else on earth, these Christians have basic human needs such as food, shelter, healthcare, education, etc.
That means that whether Christian or not, you need to have the financial or material means to provide for yourself and assist the needy people around you.
In normal circumstances we all should work to earn a living, as Apostle Paul taught that lazy people who don’t work shouldn’t eat either. (I don’t yet know of any supermarket where Christians can take any item for free just because they are Christians!) And if professionals and civil servants have the right to the salaries they work for, priests and pastors are also Biblically justified to live on sharing the true Gospel and shepherding the Church of the Lord.
Just as a loyal citizen should pay taxes to the Government, a loyal Christian is Biblically expected to give a tithe (a tenth of your salary or income) and offerings (no stipulated amount) to God through the church. These monies should be used properly, catering for the church’s needs; paying the priest or pastor’s salary; assisting the poor, orphans and widows.
Yet while the pastor is expected to teach about the full Gospel, including giving tithes and offerings, no one should be forced or pestered to give. Giving to God is done freely, willingly and joyfully, with fun and peace in your heart and mind. We give what we have; God cannot ask us to give what He knows we don’t have.
Both the pastor and their church should remember that the love of money is the root of all evil. At no time and by no means should we commercialise the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we want to be rich, we can go and do business or work for the money in other ways, but not by putting the Gospel on auction.
While the church should be balanced to be relevant to both God and the world, we should highlight to everyone that the church is not a boardroom or a club for money-lovers.
If we fail to put Jesus Christ and His Kingdom first, our churches will cease to be the houses of prayer and will become dens of robbers which will attract the wrong people such as smart sinners, professional hypocrites and Judas Iscariots who will sell out the Church of the Lord for money. May the Lord help us!
Pastor Thomas Baganineza is an ordained minister who has been pastoring for more than 10 years. He graduated from Global University and is currently a freelance columnist and writer.
thomasbaganineza@gmail.com
