CHRISTIANS have been enjoined to shun all forms of extravagance and spend within their means during the Easter celebration.
MOST Reverend Joseph Akinfenwa, the Bishop of Ibadan Anglican Diocese gave the advice, while lamenting the increasing rate of poverty in Nigeria.
According to a press statement issued, the Bishop advised , “Christians should celebrate with modesty, and avoid going into debt. Instead, our surpluses should be channeled into providing succor to the needy.
He stressed the need for Nigerians to draw nearer to God, “most importantly, let us all seize the occasion of this season to draw closer to God and to know Him better through His Son, Jesus Christ”.
Akinfenwa further expressed regrets , “has Nigerians are celebrating Easter in the midst of excruciating economic pain and under great anxiety over insecurity and political persecution. Our nation is witnessing an economic downturn of monumental proportwith a decline in the value of the Naira that is unprecedented in our history.
“Nigerians needs to pray more. We admonish the three arms of government in this nation to urgently bury the hatchet and begin to work together in the overall interest of the masses. For what the Nigerian masses can observe suggests that the executive, the legislature and the judiciary in Nigeria are presently having adversarial relationships.
“As we celebrate Easter, therefore, we appeal to feuding elements in the three arms of government to consider the interests of poor Nigerians over and above their narrow personal interests”.
He also stated that Jesus Christ laid down his life for the salvation of our souls. In doing so, he left us an example of how leadership should be exercised for the pursuit of the good and wellbeing of others.
Bishop Akinfenwa, therefore tasked Nigerians to reflect on this lesson as we celebrate; just as he admonished the leaders as well as the led to shun selfish, self-centered lives henceforth. “A major lesson of Easter is that we must all learn to live for others”, he reiterated.
