John 2: 13-17 and its Implications for Church Commercialisation in Nigeria

Year 2019, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 47 - 54, 25.05.2019

Ogunlusi Temitope Clement

Abstract

The study examined Church
commercialization with emphasis on John 2: 13-17. Religion to an extent in
Nigeria is no more a spiritual thing but a means to an end especially among
some so- called religious leaders. Although some spiritual leaders postulated
spiritual reasons for their actions but majority of it is found out to be
against the ethics of Christianity. Therefore for the purpose of clarity, the
methodology adopted by the researcher in this paper was descriptive and
empirical methods. The paper noted that, Jesus in John 2: 13-17 was angry with
temple authorities that engaged in exploiting the poor and rebuked them for the
desecration of the house of God. The paper revealed that in Nigeria, most
pastors focused on prosperity preaching’s and this have caused loss of interest
and lack of trust in spiritual activities among many believers. In other words,
majority no longer reference God and things of God as it used to be. It has
been pastor’s wealth versus member’s poverty in Nigeria Church of today. These
facts have bashed the reputation of the Church; turned commercialization into
an aberration that makes it to look like it is against the tenets of
Christianity and thus the church is encouraged to work towards promoting good
virtues in the face of this anomaly. The paper, on this note recommended that
basic theological education needs to be given to people in order to understand
the workings of religion and commerce. Religious leaders too who engaged in
religion/church commercialization are advised to yield to the mandate of Jesus
that freely one has received and freely one must give. This becomes imperatives
in order to boost the image of Church that has been tarnished as a result of
these unhealthy business activities. Above all, moderation and Godly
contentment should be the attitude of professing Christians.

Keywords

commercialisation, religious leaders, church, Christianity, desecration

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