By By Ogunbowale, Tolulope Sobiye
Religion is supposed to heal, not harm. It promised love, peace and a reason to be kind. But somehow, the same hands that fold in prayer often throw the first stone. How did we get here?
Money, as they say, is the root of all evil. Walk into any house of worship and you’ll see the offering basket passed around more times than a plate of food at a family dinner. Some preachers drive cars that cost more than your house. They wear rings that could feed a village. And they ask you, the struggling worker, the worried mother, for your last dime. ‘Seed offering,’ they call it. That’s not faith. That’s a hustle with holy water. Some even, use the amount of money you can donate to your place of worship to justify your eligibility to heaven. They sell expensive holy oil for protection, yet they still surround themselves with bodyguards. If the oil truly guaranteed safety, why are the guards still necessary?
Violence is another issue. Two religious groups in same neighbourhood, before you know it, a church is on fire. A mosque is a crime scene. People die over whose God has the bigger name. Isn’t that like fighting over which flavour of water tastes more like water? It makes no sense at all. Religion has started more wars than hungry stomachs ever did.
Divine calling has been replaced with Inheritance rights. Religious leaders now make their children inherit the house of worship regardless of their spiritual calling. At the end of the day, those children tend to misbehave and lord over the place of worship.
And hypocrisy? Oh, that’s the biggest one. The loudest ‘halleluyah’ on Sunday belongs to the same mouth that cheats customers on Monday. The woman who shouts ‘save our youth’ is the first to spread gossip that destroys a teenager’s life. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. Religion without character is just an empty noise under a steeple.
Religion has destroyed families faster than any argument ever could. A father tells his daughter, ‘Marry in our faith or leave this house.’ Religious leaders have destroyed many marriages through wrong sermons and prophecies. Isn’t that a cage with a cross on top? Even neighbours who once shared meals now build walls because ‘their prophet is fake.’ It’s heartbreaking and silly, if we’re being honest.
Gender inequality is another aspect. Women are told to shut up and sit down. Women are shaped to take the blame for whatever men do and submit totally without complaining. All these are justified with ‘the holy book says so.’ But funny enough, that same book never seems to speak against the rich or the powerful. Makes you wonder who wrote the footnotes.
So where does that leave us? Look around carefully. You may see someone dressed in religious clothes or carrying holy symbols, yet their words are harsh, their actions selfish and their heart cold. They look righteous on the outside but behave badly in private. It is like wrapping dirt in gold paper and calling it a treasure.
You can wear a cross, a hijab, a robe or carry a Bible every day. But if you still cheat, hate, gossip or treat people badly, then those outward signs mean very little. Faith is not just about appearance, it is about character.
True religion is shown in the way we treat people. It is seen in hands that help others and make them happy, words that bring peace and hearts filled with kindness and love instead of bitterness and pride.
Let’s hold on to our faith, if it helps us become a better person, but let go of hypocrisy. No religious clothing or title can hide a bad attitude. God cares more about the condition of the heart than the appearance on the outside.
