BEWARE OF 'MERCHANTS' OF GOD (AUGUST 14, 2010)

THE First Lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, has taken exception to the increasing trend of exploitation of the vulnerable in society by some unscrupulous ministers of the Gospel.
Her greatest worry concerns the attitude of exploiting the vulnerable in society with all kinds of teachings and interpretations by these so-called men of God who have forgotten about the task embodied in the Great Commission of preaching and teaching that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ taught mankind.
Mrs Mills's lamentations were let out when she addressed the conference of National Baptist Ministers’ Wives Fellowship at Ejura in the Ashanti Region.
The First Lady hit the nail right on the head when she said such men of God had erroneously given the impression that besides the Word of God, something else must be done.
Instead of preaching salvation, these so-called men of God have thrown overboard the church's dogma and the church which is supposed to be the exclusive platform for high moral standards no longer remains so.
The media are replete with some of the dubious activities of such so-called men of God and yet their prayer camps and churches continue to be flocked by people as if the people had been hypnotised.
Nowadays, the most dubious characters cannot only be found in the churches but are also made to occupy very high positions because they affluently assist the church in diverse ways and it is for this reason that the Daily Graphic calls on the charlatans to mend their ways and show the people the path to God or liberate them from so-called evil spirits and challenges.
It is now common knowledge that some of the charismatic and Pentecostal churches are engaged in the sale of all kinds of special healing merchandise, such as olive oil, salt, perfume, sea water, soap, handkerchiefs, among other items, at very exorbitant prices, all in the hope that the use of these worldly things will open the way for those who use them.
We remind our compatriots, particularly the vulnerable, to be wary of these so-called men of God in order not to fall prey to their false doctrines.
It is true that the difficult times that face mankind will drive people to seek solace in the church and other places of worship, but it equally behoves the flock to be more discerning to look for only people who make the Bible and other worship materials the basis of their teachings.
We know that everybody under the cloak of financial burden, crisis in business, marriage and other challenges will turn to men of God, especially when the State is overburdened in providing the safety net.
But, in all these and for Christ's sake, Ghanaians should not put all their hopes in men of God, some of whom have no integrity and have made it their preoccupation to commercialise the Word of God for their selfish gain.
Indeed, the Bible contains testimonies of people and accounts of miracles performed by Jesus Christ, but what some present-day men of God claim to do is an affront to the teachings of the Bible and people should not allow themselves to be influenced and polluted by such miracles, to say the least.