Financial transparency, fidelity crucial for marital success, says Pastor Avoseh

By Adeze Ojukwu

Financial transparency and fidelity are crucial for marital peace and success, says Pastor Sunday Avoseh.

Avoseh, who is the Senior Pastor in charge of the Redeemed Christian Church of God(RCCG), City of light parish, Festac Town, Lagos, stated this on Sunday, during a special service, on financial challenges facing many families.

According to him several marriages are going through crises, due to reckless spending, immorality and mismanagement of scarce resources.

During the interactive session,  members shared different experiences about the subject matter. The pastor encouraged couples to emulate the exemplary love exhibited by Jesus Christ by being faithful to their partners, in all spheres of family life and fiscal issues.

 Avoseh, who is also the Assistant Pastor in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) of Province 3, Annex 2,  acknowledged the economic hardship confronting many Nigerians, including Christians, but urged believers to embrace God’s grace and discretion in order to maintain peace and integrity in the home.

The special service was the highpoint of a month-long message focussed on  God’s grace, which Pastor Avoseh emphasized should be the pinnacle of every Christian.

‘We all live by grace. Clearly, we all need abundant grace to live each day. We cannot  enjoy our marriages or succeed in various facets of life without the grace of God,’ he added.

In the message tagged ‘Grace teaches,’ Pastor Avoseh identified  ignorance, as a major challenge because of its grievous consequences on many lives.

He anchored the teaching on the following scriptures.

Titus 2:11-12 ‘For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.’

Hosea 4:6 ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.’

According to him, the scriptures clearly enjoin believers to be wise and knowledgeable, in order to overcome destruction and other negative consequences inimical to the God’s command and eternal salvation.

 His words: ‘Most of the destruction being witnessed today, can be traced to lack of knowledge. Destruction of lives, marriages, homes, businesses, and careers, among others are all traceable to ignorance.’

‘The truth is that nobody has any reason to be destroyed. The Almighty God has made grace available to teach us all things, including how to be righteous and please Him.’

‘The grace of God, which reaches out to man makes salvation possible. It teaches and justifies. It teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, helping us to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this wicked and perverse world.’

‘This teaching aspect of grace corrects the notion that grace gives license to sin or condones it. The bible says, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid,’ as stated in Romans 6:1-2

‘Grace is a powerful force of great lifting because of its ability to teach and empower a life of holiness,’ he stressed.

He extrapolated further with Genesis 6. ‘God was to destroy the man he had created on earth, but the bible says, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He was a just and perfect man in his generation.’

‘His generation was corrupt, prompting God to destroy the then ancient world. However Noah was just and perfect because God’s grace taught him to live soberly and righteously.’

In Romans 5:17,  St Paul said  ‘through our Lord Jesus Christ, we receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness.’

‘We are charged not to allow corrupt communication to proceed out of our mouths, so that we can minister grace to our hearers in Ephesians 4:29.’

‘Corrupt communication, he stressed was a clear evidence of lack of grace, because the grace of God in the life of a man makes the life of holiness a reality.’

The cleric also quoted 1Peter 5:10, which says ‘His grace works for our perfection.’

He concluded his prayer-laden exhortation, with a powerful charge. ‘My beloved brethren in Christ Jesus, do not  frustrate the grace of God. Endeavour  to live righteously in this corrupt world. Depend on grace for whatever thing you need. God is ever willing and ready to make his grace available, provided you are ready to embrace it.’