The infiltration of the church (3)

This week’s article is the only new one of my 5-part serial of spiritual recollections. All the others in the series were written a decade or so ago and I will conclude these particular recollections next week with another piece from the past.

One of my favourite Bible stories is the episode involving Mordecai, Esther and one wicked man called Haman contained in the book of Esther in the Old Testament. Esther otherwise named Hadassah, you will recall, had, with guidance from her uncle Mordecai, become King Ahasuerus’ Queen after the voluntary self-displacement of the proud and unwise Vashti. Esther was a Jewish patriot who was brought up by her uncle. Now Haman was one of the king’s powerful and influential advisers who was promoted to a pre-eminent position to minister to the king. In due course Haman became a tyrannical minister who was full of wrath that Mordecai did not bow before him and set out to destroy Mordecai and his kindred, the Jews. In effect, Haman sought to use his position of power and influence with the ruler to oppress and destroy God’s children! There can be only one consequence for such evil enterprise, self-destruction and that turned out to be Haman’s fate!

Using his influence with the king, Haman accordingly obtained a royal decree to destroy the Jews, including Mordecai (in Mordecai’s case, he had a gallows specially prepared for him!) and went about this wickedness with focus and determination. What he did not know was that the Queen was indeed a Jew, because Esther under Mordecai’s guidance had not disclosed her real roots! In the end, Esther had Mordecai instruct her fellow Jews to fast and pray on her behalf; went before the king and obtained favour from him; and turned the tables on Haman. I always find the end of the story in Esther 7:10 and 8:2 very instructive and exciting-“So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified….And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.” Consistently throughout the Bible, anywhere God granted or allowed power to any individual, who then turned around to use it to oppress the children of God, that individual usually lost the power or office, typically in tragic circumstances!

I reflected on the story of Haman and Mordecai as I wrote today’s article which is an update on the story of “Kayode” which I featured in the original “The Infiltration of the Church (2)” of 2008 republished last week! Seven years later and more than a decade after the actual events, Kayode’s adversaries are still chasing after him! Perhaps they want to end up like Haman, or Goliath, Pharaoh, the enemies of Daniel or those of the three Hebrew children-all of whom seeking to oppress innocent people with their power or perceived power, ended up destroying themselves.

I sought out and interviewed “Kayode” for this piece-he claimed the “pastor” had never relented in his unwarranted and unprovoked onslaught against him; he eventually left the pastor’s church but that did not end the wickedness of the so-called man of god-indeed leaving the Church could not be worse than leaving a secret cult in the reaction that Kayode got from the pastor and his friends; one of the pastor’s friends, accomplices and co-minister named “Chukwu” was especially vicious and unceasing in contriving plot after plot against him; in one notorious instance, Chukwu actually organized a set-up against Kayode in which he involved some professional mercenaries (the labourer is worthy of his “wages”!) to unsuccessfully attack and denigrate him; there is nothing the pastor and Chukwu did not attempt against Kayode-you would think perhaps the fellow had snatched their wives!

The real mystery for me, and that takes us back to the theme of infiltration, is how Jesus Christ’s ministry of salvation, redemption, reconciliation, compassion and restoration became in the minds of so-called ministers of god, one of personal destruction? Surely anyone called into the ministry of Christ will not seek to undermine anyone, talk less of actively and consistently contriving and pursuing their destruction? Surely anyone engaged in the ministry of “killing, stealing and destroying” works for another master rather than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ or Jehovah the El-Shaddai!

It is reflections on issues like this that suggest to me that (at least in many instances) the House of God has probably being infiltrated by the enemies of God who now seek to hold the children of God in subjection and oppression? I am strengthened in this hypothesis by the circumstances of our country-how can we have so many who are called Pastors, Reverends, Bishops and Archbishops and the only tangible, discernible impact on the country is their own wealth and power? How can there be so much corruption and wickedness in a country with so many “men of god?” How can there be so much wickedness even in the house of God? We would have to assume that these ones do not know God and only entered into his house for the earthly benefits they derive therefrom, and they have indeed derived huge benefits!

Opeyemi Agbaje