Dear men of God
On this bright day, esteemed fathers of faith, I’m reaching out from Houston, a city in Texas that I once mistakenly believed to be its capital until I learnt that Austin holds that title. This message carries weight—it’s not just any letter. It stems from a deep realisation, a painful one, that certain businesses affiliated with churches share a concerning similarity with government entities, something we’ve vocally criticised for years: wages that barely suffice for employees’ needs.
I write not to belittle you or ridicule you but to say the truth and let the devil be ashamed as you always tell us sermon after sermon. It is out of love; it is because I believe the Church should show the way. I get disappointed when I see things that are below par within the body of Christ. Nothing more nothing less.
Sirs, let me get to the story behind this letter, a story that will drive home my point, a story that many have experienced but have chosen to keep to themselves because they feel speaking out means touching the anointed.
This is the story: A good friend of mine called me excitedly recently after a very rigorous recruitment exercise with the publication unit of one of Nigeria’s biggest churches. He had done written and oral tests and was chosen among a multitude, all professionals and members of the church. After he and another person were chosen, they were made to undergo medical examinations. While this long process was on, there was no hint about salaries and other emoluments. Since the church said it wanted professionals, my friend looked forward to a truly living wage.
When I received his call, I didn’t share in this excitement, because a protegee and her hubby who work in businesses owned by another of the nation’s biggest Pentecostal church earn next to nothing. My protegee’s mother-in-law was so angry with the pay of her son one day that she wondered aloud why the church was spreading poverty. I don’t blame her. How can a grown man with a child still be living with his parents? He was being paid pittance despite his degrees, his second degree was even earned in the United Kingdom and his parents paid through their nose.
The two of them are very brilliant. The wife nearly finished as the best in her set in a private university where her father paid handsomely. She also has a post-graduate qualification. These feats should reflect in what employers pay them, especially faith-based businesses whose leaders pray for people to thrive.
Back to my friend’s tale: Curiosity, dear fathers of faith, made my friend ask a longstanding employee in the unit what the salary structure was and he was told not to expect much. In his previous job, he earned over half a million Naira monthly. When the much-expected offer letter came, the annual package was equivalent to what he earned monthly in his previous job. This miserable amount was a little over N50,000 in a month.
In the Nigeria of today, to fill up a car’s tank, depending on its size, costs between N30,000 and N50,000. If you live far from where you work, a full tank may not even go beyond one week.
Sirs, I am writing to you because the church shouldn’t champion the spread of poverty. The church should show a good example. When church members volunteer, it is a different thing, but when faith-based businesses employ professionals such as editors, engineers, accountants and so on, they deserve to be well-paid. They shouldn’t be told they are “working for God”. They are offering their services as professionals; they aren’t volunteering. How will they be able to pay their children’s school fees? How will they pay their rent? How will they be able to buy and maintain their cars? How will they pay bills? How will they feed their family? How will they enjoy the basic necessities of life without becoming nuisances to people around them? How will they avoid wearing rags?
I have wondered what their dire situation must have done to their dignity. I imagined the indignity of them relying on friends and family members for survival, and the shame they must have been subjected to. Perhaps someone had insulted them before because of their constant requests for assistance.
Civil servants, who have a history of being poorly-paid, augment their pay with bribes, a situation which has seriously affected the quality of the service they offer. People who work with faith-based businesses can’t go this route, which is filled with pot-holes and man-holes. The best the church can do is pay them like the professionals they are. They should be paid like their colleagues in the private sector; the public sector is not a good model. It is a faulty model that is at the root of the challenges our country faces and will continue to face until labourers get their dues.
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As I write this, fear is etched on my mind that my intention will be misconstrued, that my faith will be queried, that I’ll be told I ain’t discerning enough to understand matters of faith, and that I’ll be written off as a busybody. But, I stand by all I’ve said. A labourer deserves his or her wage. There should be dignity in labour, a virtue that is absent in many establishments in our country because employers act as though they are doing those who work for them favours. It is even a different ballgame in faith-based establishments because workers are seen as working for the mission. In a nutshell, they are doing God’s work and shouldn’t be concerned about earthly things like money. But, how will they settle their bills?
My final take, sirs: You pray for us to do well at work. Doing well at work involves receiving good pay. But when faith-based businesses pay pittance to professionals, it is a negation of the prayer to prosper in life. The status quo can’t remain, shouldn’t remain.
I wish you well, Sirs, and expect changes.