I go lie for you? - by Friday Okwori

Welcome to Family Harvest! You know what this means if you've ever been to an orthodox church. Of course, I’ll still give out the details. In orthodox churches (Anglican, Methodist, and Baptist), harvest is a time set aside for thanksgiving, usually at the end of the year. Children, adults, and families are the three categories into which it is typically divided. Family harvest is the grand finale. To commemorate the conclusion of that year's harvest, a large celebration is usually held. The concept of family harvest is very straightforward: recognize all that God has accomplished in your family. There must be something worth thanking God for. On the eve of the family harvest, the church is adorned gracefully. It will be given a complete face lift. Everything has to be on point. There’s a special anointing on the choir members only for that day. They sing like angels. That is the day women fellowship will sing their best songs. Ushers don their finest uniforms as well. Families sit together happily in same attire. It is usually a long service so there’s provision for correct smoky party jollof rice. You have made it if your mother is among the women cooking overnight. Enjoyment will finish you. If your own church is like mine, then be sure there’ll be cold kunu at the exit door. It is always a beautiful and remarkable event. Over time, Harvest has evolved. It is now a fundraising event in addition to being a service where people give thanks to God for whatever they have. Many people from all walks of life have been invited. These visitors are significant dignitaries who are expected to contribute "heavily" to any project designated for harvest. Naturally, the congregation is also required to give "cheerfully." Weeks prior to harvest, envelopes are always distributed. The work of the Lord needs money. Beyond that, harvest has sadly become a time for show-off. Meet the Caxton’s. Certain names already imply affluence. This is one of such. The Caxtons were an affluent, devout Christian couple. All their children were married and resided abroad. They lived together with their domestic staff. They had an NGO that supported a wide range of human causes since they were extremely generous. However, they lived for the applause of people. Boy, they’ll do anything to be recognized anywhere they go. They will still manage to make the occasion about themselves even if you invite them to your baby's birthday celebration. It was truly that awful. However, you had to pick your poison because they were wealthy. Even if it means lying, they will stop at nothing to project their lofty self-image. They actually didn’t see it as an issue. They were both on the organizing committee for this year's harvest. The new pastorate of the church carefully chose it. Only a few months prior to the harvest were the pastors transferred to the church. Since their arrival, the church has experienced a true spiritual rebirth and regeneration. They had a strong love for teaching the Bible. During midweek services, auditoriums were packed. The members had not experienced anything like it in a very long time. Brethren were genuinely hungry for God. The majority of the sermons focused on letting go of pride, ego, or self, regardless of size. The harvest this year was going to be different, these new preachers kept saying. It was not going to be an overt display of wealth, status, or power. Rather, a demonstration of God's greatness and power was to take place. They were going to challenge the status quo. In fact, they provided a straightforward guideline for the harvest: sell anything you can live without and give God the entire proceeds. You have to choose what to sell. They continued to emphasize the rule as the harvest drew near. In fact, it eventually turned into a warning. The intention was to encourage brethren to give fully and sincerely to God. It was the day of family harvest. The Caxtons believed that everything would continue as usual. They will always use family harvest as an opportunity to pride themselves as the richest people in the community. Really, the show-off was unnecessary. Projecting their ego was more important to them than offering to God. The pastors' warning didn't matter. They brought a substantial sum for thanksgiving after selling a pricey property. With such pride, Mr. Caxton presented the pastorate the money as he strode out. Although it was enormous, one of the pastors knew it wasn't the whole amount. Mr. Caxton responded, "I go lie for you?" when asked if this was the entire amount. As soon as he finished speaking, he collapsed. The whole church scatter. This appeared to be the manifestation of God's power that the pastors had talked about. It's still unclear how they managed to get everyone back in the auditorium. People were trembling in their seats. You could feel the fear. Mrs. Caxton entered with pride a few hours later. Her dress alone was enough to announce her status. The jewelries didn’t come to play. Forget, money dey talk. Few conversations with the pastorate and she was being stretchered dead out of the auditorium. Despite all the warnings, they still went ahead with their own plans. They had gained men’s applause but lost their lives. Everyone wants to be recognized. It’s one of the fundamental human needs. There’s always a feel-good factor when that happens. We want to be praised and known for giving our all to God even when we know that’s not the case. The battle for self-recognition is a life-long one. However, we must always keep in mind that God never requests that we pretend to be flawless or exaggerate our spiritual qualifications in order to please Him. His requirement is simple – come as you are. You don’t need all of those theatrics with Him. Save the performance for someone else. Article is culled from the bible; the story of Ananias and Sapphira – Acts 5:1-11.

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