Pope Francis is the leader of about 1.2 Billion Roman Catholics, the largest Christian denomination in the world. He is based in Rome.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome is the leader of a few million pentecostal (modern Christians), through his Believers’ Loveworld Incorporated, also known as Christ Embassy, a Bible-based Christian ministry, with headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.
Of course, one of the things that is similar between the two, despite the wide gap in their status, is that they are both Christians. Another one is that they are leaders in their own right.
In the absence of any other known similarities, it is obvious that what differentiate them and put them apart are things of this world.
While Pope Francis distances himself from the worldly grandeurs, Pastor Oyakhilome embraced them with passion.
Quite co-incidentally, the reactions of the two Christian leaders to surprise gifts they got between last week and this week are very instructive in this discourse.
While the Pope got a gift of a first-class car, Oyakhilome got a gift of an aircraft. The gift for Pope Francis was a white-painted special edition of Lamborghini Huracan. The cost of the car was put at about 180,000 Euros (N76 million).
Pope received the car, blessed it, signed its hood and promptly handed it over to Sotheby to auction off the Huracan on his behalf to raise money for charity.
Pastor Oyakhilome, on his part, embraced aircraft, which cost nearly a billion. The aircraft gift was given by the Loveworld Music and Art group, an arm of the Christ Embassy, trained to produce world class, worded and faith-filled gospel tunes as well as highly skilled and energetic kingdom dancers.
After embracing the aircraft gift, the Pastor said: “I am particularly very excited that this laudable and auspicious gift is coming just from a Department in Church, a department of very young successful people in Church.
“I am very excited again that this is happening at a time like this when some sense-ruled folks are crying over ten percent tithe and offering. Unfortunately for the folks, they have been left behind groping in the dark. “Their wisdom has failed them because it will always come to naught. The more we sow into the anointing, the bigger we become and the more they complain and profane against the anointing, the smaller and worse they become.”
The aircraft gift was not part of the other private jets Pastor Oyakhilome had been enjoying. Indeed, there are numerous other unhidden heavenly comfort he is enjoying here on earth.
Now, the differences between the Pope and Pastor Oyakhilome are not only clear but provide some unanswered but obvious questions on what really we are here in the world to do, and to achieve. Just thinking.
[myad]
