A Contextual Analysis of I Corinthians 913 and Extreme Materialism among Nigerian Pastors

Over the years, the church has been God’s agent of spirituality, turning the heart of people to God. But recent activities in the church today betray this agency in different parts of the world; to the point that many see Christianity as the root cause of major problems in society. In the past, churches in Nigeria stood up against immorality, corruption and moral defiance in the society. The reverse is the case today. Contemporary pastors in Nigeria are efficiently committing modern-day fraud because of extreme materialism. Some ministers of God today have turned the church to money making venture. It is disheartening that in the recent time, Nigerian pastors’ measures success in the ministry by the size of congregations and number of cars owned, among others. They have replaced the goal of faithfulness in the work of God with material wealth. In Nigeria, the church is seen as an avenue for ministers to reward themselves using means. As a result, this paper offers a biblical critique based upon 1 Corinthians 9:13 concerning this materialism and its extremes in Nigerian pastorate.

Keywords: Materialism, Pastors, Nigerian.