The one who fell

IT IS easy to condemn; very easy because it is in human nature to delight in the mistakes of others. Yes, it is good to tongue lash people when they misbehave, but we should not forget the log in our own eyes when we are removing the speck in the eyes of others. In a society like others where we pretend a lot, those in positions of trust, especially men of God, must be beyond reproach. As ministers in the temple of God, they cannot be calling on people to follow the straight and narrow path, while they prefer the wide and crooked route.

It is only meet and proper for those who claim to be called to live up to their calling. The Lord puts it succinctly: “any man who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is unworthy of God’s kingdom”.

Come to think of it, what kind of pastors are we breeding these days? Many are end-time pastors, who believe that their reward is here on earth and not in heaven. This is why they engage in all sorts of atrocities – in the name of God.

Virtually, the whole world now knows about the Busola Dakolo story. Busola was an impressionable young girl of 16 when she claimed she was raped by her pastor, Biodun Fatoyinbo, of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA) in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, about 20 years ago. It all happened one early morning when the pastor came calling when nobody was at home and had his way with her. After the show, Pastor Fatoyinbo allegedly gave her a bottle of Krest bitter lemon, that famous drink of which we have heard a lot of tales. Such tales include that it is good as contraceptive for men and women!

The second part of the show allegedly followed few weeks later on the hood of the pastor’s car. Rape whether by a man of God or by anybody else is a crime. It is also a sin before God. I am not here to judge Pastor Fatoyinbo; his conscience and the law will do that, but to use this development to assess the human character, particularly of those of us now playing the judge. Like many of us, Fatoyinbo needs spiritual help.

We have virtually seen his nakedness now because of Mrs Dakolo’s allegations against him. What has happened to him should be a big lesson to all, especially those of us who are pastors. As a pastor, what kind of relationship do you have with the female members of your church? Is it the kind of relationship that can compromise your standing with God? Then, it is better for you to flee from every appearance of evil if you do not want to fall. He who thinks he stands, says the Bible, should take heed, lest he falls. Pastors must be conscious of this admonition in order not to dig their own graves.

There is no amount of anointing that can save a man of God who sees evil (in form of female flesh) and stands by instead of running for his life. If you are easily attracted by the female flesh and you know that to be your weakness, the best thing to do is to run. If you think that your anointing will cover that, you will know better by the time you are consumed by that same flesh. It is of God’s mercy that we are not consumed, it is not by our might or power. It is because many pastors forget this fact that they fall easily. I pity Fatoyinbo. We are roasting him today because he was exposed. There are many like him out there having a fling with their church members and when the bubble bursts, they will say “it is the devil”.

Which devil? There is nothing hidden before God. Your sin will find you out, says the Bible. God will not cover your sin because you are a pastor. Rather, He will expose such pastor to show that He is not a partial God. A pastor can only find favour with God if he lives up to His expectations and call on his flock to also do so. But what do we have? Shepherds who use the name of God to deceive their sheep and tell them after they have satisfied their urge: “you should be happy a man of God did this to you’’. What is so special about a man of God that he should deflower a 16-year-old girl, who is a minor under the law?

Pastors are no special breed; they are human like every one of us and therefore fallible. You are not a pastor because you are infallible; you are infallible as a pastor only to the extent that you minister to the needs of your flock. But this does not include taking undue advantage of them. The earlier pastors realise this, the better for them and the society at large. I feel for Mrs Omodele Fatoyinbo, who has stood by her husband. That is how it should be.

But in whatever she does or says, she should refrain from making it look like a case of a loose girl that pushed her husband into sin. From all indication, that was not what happened. How much does Mrs Fatoyinbo know about this her ‘faithful’ husband? Do not harden your heart to the truth, madam. Come to terms with it and let it set you free.

Mayhem

MEMBERS of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) aka Shi’ite went on the rampage, again, in Abuja on Tuesday. They stormed the National Assembly to protest the continued detention of their leader Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. They attacked the police for stopping them from entering the assembly complex. The protesters blocked all roads leading to the place as they took the law into their hands. They vandalised vehicles, including those belonging to individuals.

They did not stop at that. One of them was seen on national television as he clambered the rooftop of a car, which wriggled its way out of their road block, and smashed the windshield with an iron, as the motorist drove furiously to get out of danger. The motorist threw him off when he suddenly marched the brakes. For how long will we continue to witness this Shi’ite mayhem in Abuja and Kaduna, especially. Those sympathetic to the sect’s cause should call these people to order now. Violence is not the way to go. It will not help their cause; it will only portray them as an unruly bunch of fundamentalists and give Islam, which is a religion of peace, a bad name.