He that loves is in the pure religion's equation hence the command, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself." (Deuteronomy 6:5; Luke 10: 27, NIV).
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:4 - 7, NIV). In other words, love is virtuous, and there is no corruption in it.
Love springs, primarily, from Holy Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22 - 23). It is these fruits of the Holy Spirit that facilitate transformation and keep a person from conforming to the pattern (corruption) of this world which the Bible cautioned against, saying: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2, NIV).
Pure religion is understanding what God's perfect will which is rooted in love is all about. It is about cultivating the seed obedience and, and bearing the fruits of the holy spirit to make the world go round for all. This understanding is a witness to justice which knocks out all excuses or claims of ignorance by man.
God's will and his power is made manifest; first, through nature, and secondly, by the teachings of His Word. Kindly spare a few minutes read Romans 1:16 - 32, NIV) with me to get the details. It is a long read, but reproduced here for ease of reference.
Here we go: "16 For I (Apostle Paul) am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
"God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
"21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
"24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen.
"26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
"28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."
From the reading above, the understanding of God's will, and the implications of not practicing pure religion is clearly stated in black and white. God is a loving welfarist, and an uncompromising disciplinarian; hence must be served as such.
The world, and Nigeria, in particular, has no shortage of those needing urgent help. There are so many struggling indigens, orphans, widows and widowers everywhere. Interestingly, there is, equally, no shortage of churches, mosques, and other places of religious practice in the Country, and most cases preaching hope and prosperity but the system is continually gasping for air. Evil is multiplying, and people are crying everywhere.
There are many leakages that have tended to raise questions about the quality of the religions we profess. Is religion a problem, or the people practising it? Is there any hope for the genuinely weak amongst us, given the proliferation of religious institutions in the Land? These are pertinent questions that beg for answers!
As religious adherents or welfarists, we should never hesitate to extend helping hands when we are in the power to do so, and strive hard to resist, or run away from any seduction or motivation for, the spoils (things) of this world. May God help us to key into that which pleases him always.
*(Modest Thoughts with Ayuba, Yilgak'ha, 20th August, 2025)*
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