BAYO'S PERISCOPE

Samuel Bayo ArowolajuSunday, January 25, 2015
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PASTORS IN POLITICS

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he trend has been settled as the word of God in Heaven. Supposedly ordained pastors have now been moving out of the pulpits and abandoning the pews for the political rostrum, which they see as more glamorous. The question now is not whether it's doable, it is whether it's biblical, rational, and ethical but above all, is it according to the will of God and in consonance to their callings as clergies? Was this the purpose of Jesus Christ in establishing his Church, in such a way that the gate of hell would not prevail?

We are not unaware of the different schools of thought of the proponents and the opponents of the new doctrine of the political pastors. Some will tell you: "We should not leave politics alone for the ungodly and corrupt unbelievers". Others would say, if we leave politics for the politicians alone they would run and turn the country into hell in which people will continue to suffer. Ummmmm.

Yet, others will go Pauline way to rake support for themselves saying: "For all authorities come from God and those in the positions of authorities have been placed there by God��� For one in authority is God's servant for your good�(Romans 13:1 and 4). But all students of the scripture will agree that even the Satan himself knows and can cite the scriptures.

These, however, call for more questions than answers. Can we say that the pastors are the only believers worthy of being in politics? Are Church members who are not pastors, not worthy or "holy" enough to be politicians, and hold political offices? Or are such people no longer qualified to be described as believers because they are no pastors? Or maybe they are mere "Christians by names" as one of the political pastors characterized them recently.

Another view maybe is that such "ordinary Christians" are not good enough in politics because they don't carry the same political party cards as their political pastors. In the final analysis, what makes these political pastors think that they are more holy spirit filled, have more integrity, honesty and more incorruptible than the so much despised "ordinary Church" members?

In my very candid view, only pastors who are not worthy of their callings in the first instance will abandon the pulpit and the pews for political rostrum; campaigning for political offices, however alluring and enticing the spoils of the office may look like. It is those who love money and position more than Jesus; those who love the world more than God and his Kingdom that will trade in the noble humble work of God for politics. It shows that right from the beginning such pastors were worshipping God and Marmon before they finally and eventually quit their double life as pastors and politicians settling for politics. That was why it could be very easy for them to quickly replace their pastoral robe and respect for the political toga and jumped into the dirty murky muddy waters of politics. Simply painfully but conclusively, even while they were on the pulpit they were miserable liars as the respected Pastor Adejare Adeboye rightly stated: "All Politicians are liars".

A simple dictionary definition of pastor means "an ordained leader of a Christian congregation". Under Catholicism, the parish priest is the leader or clergy in charge of the congregation. In both cases special attention should be placed to the pastor being a leader and not just a member of the congregation. So, pastors and priests have leadership roles, duties and responsibilities to play in their congregations. They are supposed to be on higher calling than members of the congregation or the pew.

From the same simple conceptual clarification, a politician is describes as a seeker or holder of public office who is more concerned with winning favor and retaining power than about maintaining principles (Wikipedia free encyclopedia). Whao! This is very serious. Therefore, the pastor is the head and leader of his church or congregation, who should seek more of the favor of God than those of men like a typical politician.

Pastors should crave less for worldly power, influence and favor but more of the power of the Holy Spirit with his eyes on the eternal life of the Kingdom of God through the Lord Jesus the Christ. No wonder the apostle Paul says: "If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10). To be ordained a leader of his Christian congregation or church, the pastor must have been specially and specifically set aside and apart or concentrated for a divine appointment in a career or a life of working in the vine yard of God eternally.

Jesus spoke of building His Church over which the gate of hell will not prevail (Matt. 16:18). By this, Jesus was saying that He is the Founder and Owner of the Church worldwide, which must be organized and presided over in a way that it will be out of the reach of the Satan and his hellish kingdom. No one then but Jesus would have envisaged the negative roles of some pastors today in positioning the Church on the open path to satanic manipulations in the guise of seeking worldly powers; all in the name of politics. This is why Jesus said: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth" (Luke 18:8).

When a pastor wittingly and unwittingly turned his pulpit into a political podium and his congregation into a political campaign rally, he has himself divided his church and congregation and thereby surrendering it to the gate of hell. This is not farfetched because Jesus said: a house divided against itself can never stand but fall (Mark 12:25). It is sad and worse for it, if the very hand that divided the house, which is the Church of God this time, and the one who have sliced and torn it down like the curtain of the Temple at the death of Jesus on the Cross (Matt. 27:51) is the pastor and leader of the congregation himself.

It is an understatement that a political pastor can easily divide his church, since it is inconceivable that all the members of a church will ever belong to the same political party. They can therefore not all share the same political platform of the political pastor. Please don't get me wrong, Christians should participate in politics, because they are the salt and light of the earth (Matt. 5:13-16) to bring light to the darkened world and arrest the decay in our society BUT that is not the job of pastors but those who have not been called to Pastoral Ministry. Christians should therefore vote objectively and not be guided or misguided by blind religious bigotry.

When the time has come when a believer is going to the church to serve God in truth and in spirit but not sure if the pastor as the head of the church will teach Jesus Crucified or Sai Buhari or Vote GEJ for president, then, clearly the time has come when the name of church should be changed to "ICHABOD" (1Samuel 4:21) and should be clearly written on the Sign Board of that church, for the glory of the Lord would have since surely departed from the church or congregation.

When a pastor defends another faith of a people that declared war against his fellow Christians; killing, maiming and burning down churches locally, nationally and internationally; and when the same pastor defames his own faith in the name of politics and canvassing votes for the candidate of the other faith, he has not only compromised but lost his faith and believe; and also declared war on the Church, believers and Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus declared: Whoever is not for me is against me��.(Matt.12:30).

Recently one of the political pastors said to likely succeed his current GO was describing some Christians as only by name while eulogizing his guard who is a Muslim. He said for about 15 years the guard was going to the camp with him, yet, he didn't know he was a Muslim. I don't know when hiding one's faith has become a virtue in any religion. If this guard was a true Muslim who prayed five times a day, then, something must be wrong with our political pastor claiming that he did know the guard was a Muslim. Or the political pastor is just mischievous, petty, na�ve and being plain a liar that a true Muslim worked with him for fifteen years, yet he did not he was a Muslim. But that is the extend some political pastors can go to 'sell their birthright' for a temporary political power.

This is a clear indication that some of our political pastors have been living a double life as politicians and pastors for a long time. By going full time politics now means they have chosen the god of this world - Satan. They have become adulterous and the complete friend of the world and enemy of God (James 4:4). They have conformed to the pattern of the world (Roman 12:2) and saying: "if you cannot beat them, join them".

I am aware that ships are made for the waters of the seas and oceans; it cannot sail without the water. However, the moment water starts to enter the ship, the ship starts to be in crisis and disaster may be looming. So is a political pastor who allowed the world and politics to enter his ministry, his church and congregation. He will no longer be a fit and proper person for the calling of God on him. He may end up scattering the flock of God under his care.

Please help me ask the political pastors, of the scriptural examples they are following especially from the New Testament. From the gospel account, we are aware that Jesus was rejected by his people because he was not the political leader they were expecting to free or liberate Israel from the colonial occupation of the Roman Empire. Rome was then the pagan government under which Israel was governed with oppression. But Jesus came as the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the entire world (John 1:29), without any racial, political or national label. To Jesus, there was no Jew or Gentile, therefore to the true and genuine ordained pastors today in Nigeria, there should be no tribe or tongue, no political flag or symbol, no APC or Aspirin, no PDP or DPP. As Christians, we belong to the same flock under the same Good Shepherd (John 10:16).

Jesus started the doctrine of the separation of the State, Politics or government from the Church when he openly declared: Give to Ceaser what is Ceasers' and to God what is Gods' (Matt. 22:21). This was when Jesus was confronted with whether Tax should be paid or not. This, till today, is a very contentious political issue everywhere. At his trial Jesus exonerated himself from the politics and politicking of his time when he was asked by Governor Pilate if he was a King of the Jews but Jesus replied that His Kingdom is not of this world (John 18: 33-36). Yet, our political pastors want to be known, respected, adored and praised as the political gladiators and liberators of their time or their people. Jesus never went out of his calling. He was focused on the reason for his coming from the beginning to the end. Where do our political pastors get their own callings?

Yes, the political pastors want to be politicians because they want to 'sanitize' the country. Indeed. Is the church they are living behind better than where they are aspiring to be? The corruption, mismanagement and abuse of public trusts and funds in some churches today may be worse than those in the worst government. Where are the ethical and moral values they are going away with or leaving behind in their churches? We can say categorically that the political pastors don't have the moral compass to lead in good governance.

Most churches have become the "den of thieves" that Jesus himself identified more than two thousands ago (Matt. 21:13). And the pastors and other church leaders have become Merchant of Venice; all stealing in the name of the Lord. They collect tithes with curses, manipulations, deceits and lying against God and Jesus Christ who never ask Christians or Gentile to "bring tithes" to the church. Ironically the Jews from whom God specifically required tithes don't follow the rituals again today either in Israel or Diaspora especially after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70.

Let all the tax (Tithe) Collectors in the Church today show us any passage of the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation where Jesus or any of the Apostles teach payment of tithe. Even more ridiculous is the demand for Ten Percent of total accruable income which they interpret tenth to be. Any student of simple Arithmetic will know that a tenth in a simple numbering is number ten after the ninth and followed by the eleventh, which is one item. From the Book of Genesis to Revelation, there is no where Ten Percent is written in both the books of the Jews and Christians. Yet, we are inundated with the shouting of pastors over and over again that worshippers should bring ten percent of their incomes even gifts to the church as tithe. Those who cannot be honest with little things; should not trusted with the national or state treasury (Luke 16:11)?

It is the greed, corruption, stealing and manipulation in the church that has always prevented the church leaders from criticizing and condemning the avarices of the public officers who bring ten percent of their loots to the pastors. This is why they have jettisoned the teaching of Jesus Christ on free-will giving (Luke 6:38) and those of the apostles (2 Corinth. 9:6-15). This is why most of the forced giving in the churches today like tithe and first fruits (which has no foundation in Christianity) has become ungodly, unholy and unacceptable to God and contributors are worse for it since God never required Christians these taxes.

In as much as we don't give freely and willingly as we want based on what we can afford but grudgingly, all our efforts will be unacceptable to God (2 Corinth. 8:12) and we will have nothing to show for. After all, God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinth. 9:7). My personal testimony is that I have never paid a tithe in my life and can declare by the grace of God that I am a working testimony of the uncommon blessings of God in my life. Praise His Holy Name.

Let me leave the political pastors with the admonitions of the great apostle Peter if they feel there are called of God. He said: Be Shepherds of God's flock that is under your care serving as overseers (and not be politicians) - not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away (1Peter 4:2-4). What a Godly charge.

The political pastors are today abandoning the flock in their charge not because God changed their callings or asked them to do otherwise. They are merely answering a new call from Satan for money and greed. They should note that the wealth, positions, power and influence they are seeking today are nothing but fleeting illusions that will fade away. The Chief Shepherd - Jesus is coming soon and what will they tell him. They will make heaven but at what cost to their crown of glory they will miss. "See them fighting for power but they know not the hour" said by Bob Marley, corroborating what Jesus said: No one knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son but only the Father (Matt.24:36).

It's never too late to return back home to the Father like the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32) and abandon the temporality of power and wealth they are seeking. Let them return to the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, let them return to the flock and congregation of the Saints that the LORD has called them to lead and serve. Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying (Matt. 11: 15; Rev. 3:22).

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