My Experiences: Thieves in the church

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Hope you all good? I know also you had a cool weekend. Mine was cool as well filled with joy because The NIGERIA team has been dominating in our group in the ongoing #AFCON2021 tournament💪 and alot wonders have been happening with regards to the trash to tough teams, just yesterday the defending Champions were beaten🤦🤗.

This article is not to discriminate
Religion. It's just a way of point
Out some ugly acts going on
In the WORLD as a whole

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I read @Bilqees article yesterday where she talked about the thief in the church and what she explained really took me back to the Lanes of memories. I'll be sharing some of these encounters with you guys.

Sincerely it's so bad how the act(stealing in church) is getting out of hands, people no longer have regards and respect for God.

I know it's not all those that go to church are clean and with good intentions but you'd find out also that even those with good intentions are still falling victims to this act. How? Are you surprised? Calm down let me tell you my real life experiences.

As at 2018, I was working with my church at home as office assistant and account clerk. I had access to everything because I was down to heart with the work. I was close to almost every member which gave me clear exposition to their basic life approaches. During my tenure, we had series of theft cases which we later found out that they were done by church members.

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This guy is not just a member but a chorister, not just a chorister but the assistant leader of the choir unit, so he knows every bit of the church settings.

Without fear for God, one night he broke the key to the church and moved away with church musical instruments such as keyboard (piano), speakers, wall clock, television and a decoder box. Announcements were made for the thief to return all that was stolen otherwise curses would be laid but the guy had zoomed off by then. We later found out where he sold some of the materials out in a neighbouring community...because our name was crested on the instrument which the people that bought testified that it was the guy that sold to them. As a church that don't want unnecessary tagging and dragging by outsiders (because it was a church member that did it), we decided to let go of everything. The guy had ran away already to a far city and tracing and tracking would be unnecessary. Although our church became the talk of the month for the community because it's so shameful that a choir leader would steal from his own Church.

That's how we fellowshipped in the church for months without instruments or sounds system.

This case happened twice before our very own, the guy later came back, confessed and pleaded which he was forgiven and accepted. After the calm, another acts like that happened and that was how he disappeared without trace. Although the stolen materials were not seen as the case of the first one, but we were very sure he was the one... because he disappeared at same period.

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Another experience again was when we moved down to a temporary site on a barchat, no block wall but covered with tapolene. I was the one in charge of money then and I like to keep them in the church to avoid stories because I closes at night and goes home late everyday. I came back one day to find out that some parts of the coverings have been opened with razor or knife which served as access/entrance to inside the church. They scattered everywhere and took the money I kept. It was clear that the people that did that were church members. We prayed over it and became more vigilant. I stopped keeping money at church. That scenario happened several times, but money? No they didn't succeeded because I no longer keep money there.

When we got our first laptop, they did the same also.

Most times the laptop is in my custody because I take it home and bring it to church everyday.

This wonderful day, I took the laptop to my boss's house to document some papers and i left to there. That day was an all-night program which he said he'd bring it along When coming to church. The church service started by 10pm and everyone was inside the auditorium. Around 1am my boss called me to his office and when I got there we met his office wall(the tapolene covering) Opened. And at that time all that I concluded was that they've moved the laptop because he brought it to charge. But luckily, he said he was convinced not to bring the laptop to church that night.OMG! That was how they'd have stolen out laptop..... The truth is that the people (person) involved were members of the church.

Sometimes we think these things are ordinary or maybe tag it far as the people involved are passing bye thieves that just want to benefit from the church and go. Haven't you heard that the insect eating the cola-nut is inside the cola-nut?

The one that shocked me most was when a well respected elder in our church sent his son to steal fuel I bought from the church. He was caught but... let's let it slide 🤗

The last.

During my schooling days, we were not permitted to plug phone inside the churh because of regular theft case, they keep announcing but we like to violate because church was one of the best source for free standard Current to charge phone. Phone misses every church service days untill they disconnected the sockets...

The worst that Happened to me was when I persuaded a girl to follow me to church for prayers in the early morning. Due to people were not much, we decided to plug her phone in the security house while we enter the auditorium for the service, it was just an hour service and when we came out, it was only the charger that was there while the phone has trekked out. She cried all through the day. So bad. She stopped going to church for two months.

Just like what I commented on Bilqees article, I wish God's Mercy is not too long and ready to strike immediately at a spot when these kind of things happen. But we can't question God.

People are taking advantage of God's Mercy to do all manners, even to the extent of stealing at the presence of God and telling him boldly at His face that He can't do anything.

It's painful to hear records of theft in the house of God!

This is why most church have mapped out ways to curb this issues, most churches now have check point at the entrance and people often see it has embarrassment.

The article is long already. Let me stop here. Thanks for reading.

17th January 2022