Prophet T.B. Joshua and exemplary biblical practice

                                                                              

Prophet T. B. Joshua

Considering the avaricious lifestyle of many general overseers and pastors of churches in the country, there is no gainsaying the fact that Prophet T.B. Joshua, the General Overseer of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), is an epitome of biblical teachings and practice of the Lord Jesus Christ. who also exemplified the same principles in his life time. Prophet T.B. Joshua is the most demonised and disparaged pastor in the country; the reason is best known to those who have chosen to tread this path. His critics call him all manners of names just as the Pharisees did to Jesus Christ; they accused him of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. But in all these, Prophet T.B. Joshua remains focused and undaunted; doing the enviable work assigned to him by the Almighty God with equanimity.

I was never an ardent follower of Prophet T.B. Joshua not because of personal hatred towards him. Nonetheless, one fateful day, I was unexpectedly drawn to the indelible benevolence of Prophet T.B. Joshua via The Emmanuel Television Programme on one of the television stations in the country. Then, I was taken aback by what I saw the Man of God doing to the downtrodden in the Nigerian society! Piles of bags of rice were visible and several trailers were also offloading their contents. On that television programme, Prophet Joshua was on ground distributing bags of rice and other foodstuffs to the less-privilege who usually thronged the Church from all walks of life irrespective of religion, ethnicity, state or region. Cash distributions in the range of N50,000 to N500,000 were also given to widows, orphans and others in need of such money to enable them set up small scale businesses to alleviate their sufferings. Prophet Joshua had also awarded a scholarship to one student to study for his Ph.D. at the Oxford University; that scholarship worth £100,000. During the earth quake in Haiti in 2010, Prophet Joshua established a hospital called Clinique Emmanuel and sent doctors there to manage it.

The significance of the magnanimity of Prophet T.B. Joshua is in conformity with biblical injunction. The Holy Bible in James 1: 27 says, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this. To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world”.  All these Prophet T.B. Joshua has been doing since he became a prophet and established the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). He is putting smiles on the faces of widows and orphans through his generosity; the only pastor that is exemplifying biblical teachings in the land! The Holy Bible in John 6: 9-11 says, “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”. When the congregations were hungry, a small boy gave Jesus Christ two loaves of bread and two fishes, which he blessed and gave to the disciples who in turn distributed the broken bread and fish to the congregants. At the end, 12 baskets filled with pieces of bread and fish were collected. It is noteworthy that the two loaves of bread and two fish are symbolic. They represent the present day tithes, offerings and other financial donations to the church which are meant for the running of the church; not for only the general overseers and their nuclear families as being demonstrated today!  Also worthy of emphases is that Jesus Christ did not convert the two loaves and two fish to his personal use as we see the men of God do today; using tithes, offerings and other financial donations to the church to buy jets, build schools and live in opulence at the detriment of the congregants who bring the money to the church! It is disheartening that members of the church that donate the money with which such schools are built cannot send their children to such schools because they cannot afford the exorbitant fees they charge. How many church leaders in the country are doing what Prophet T.B. Joshua is doing? If only 10 of the big and popular church leaders in Nigeria can replicate the doings of Prophet T.B. Joshua, going to church will be captivating and also encouraging. Many members of the churches live in penury while their general overseers and founders live large as if nothing is wrong. This is not what the Holy Bible teaches and certainly not what Jesus Christ exemplified.

 Nevertheless, it is also necessary to state that it is only Prophet T.B. Joshua that does not own private jets, exotic cars and schools unlike his contemporaries in the vineyard of God in Nigeria. This is because his sole preoccupation is to win the lost sheep of God back to him; this should be the primary assignment of every man of God as written in the Holy Bible. At the moment, the reverse is the case with many men of God in the country; they pursue money with all the available strength and vigour within them at the detriment of winning souls for God. But Prophet T.B. Joshua’s magnanimity has bestowed on him honours. He was honoured by the Arewa Youth Forum as an Ambassador of Peace and also got a letter of recognition from the United Nations.

Prophet T.B. Joshua should not bother about his obdurate critics considering the fact that Jesus Christ was also derogated. He should remain focused and continue with his magnanimous activities. This is what the Holy Bible teaches; to help the widows and orphans. It is evident that if all men of God can replicate the generosity of Prophet T.B. Joshua, more people will be proselyted.