Editor’s Note: Sunday is a solemn day in Lagos. For Lagosians, the day ”is a Sabbath day” that must be kept holy. The day also offers the best time to be close to God. But Lagosians attend church for different reasons. However, the irony of the pious church-going Lagosian will make a good topic for research.
The question is: how come your average Lagosian, who is aggressive on weekdays acts saintly in church on Sundays only to fall back to his or her old ways thereafter?
1. For prosperity and financial break through: People attend church for different reasons. But to many Lagosians struggling with their finances, church offers the best assurances to get out of financial challenges. There is the belief that giving one’s tithes and offerings in church according to biblical injunctions will open the gateway of financial blessings to the giver. People actually go to church to ask to be blessed financially by God.
2. Networking: One major reason why some Lagosians flock to church on Sundays is to network and met people they would ordinarily not meet in their everyday life. For them, meeting these people can improve their chances of doing business since different people of different status attend church. Networking is one of the major reasons for attending church in Lagos.
3. Forgiveness of Sin: I have heard some funny stories of Lagosians attending church to ask for restitution of sin or for offences committed the previous week. Lagosians by nature are aggressive people. Even the nicest of people become pugnacious when they relocate to Lagos. It is the way this city is wired. There is no way one can live in Lagos without getting into an argument or a fight with somebody. The church offers the sanctuary to ask for forgiveness for one’s brashness. It is a sanctuary to keep one’s sanity at least for the period the service will last.
4. To Make Heaven: Lagosians in spite of the intense hustling to make it in this world still want to make heaven. You will often hear a typical Lagosian say’ ’what does it profit a man to gain the world and lose eternal life’. Yes, the average Lagosian has an eye for the good things the city offers but still keeps an eye on salvation.
5. To have a sense of belonging: Church gives a sense of belonging, that you are not alone in the harsh and lonely life of the city. By going to church and belonging to the sub-groups and departments, you get a sense that you belong in the community of humans not the impersonal and aloof people you meet in everyday life.
6. To fulfill all righteousness: For some Lagosians who have a busy life, Sunday is the only day they have for their faith. They go to church on Sundays to purge any sense of guilt they might have for not attending church mid-week or performing other church duties.
7. Healing: We are all humans and many of us have health challenges. By attending we have the faith that our inadequacies and physical challenges will experience healing
8. Miracle Seekers: Lagosians are daily looking for miracles in their everyday life. They want to live their dream. They expect things will happen and the church will hasten their miraculous encounter with God. The dream job; the dream house and the lovely partner will appear in a miraculous way. It is hope rooted in faith.
9. To Keep Enemies at Bay: Many Lagosians believe that whatever they are experiencing in the physical is a manifestation of what has transpired in the spirit. They believe nothing happens in their lives that have not been written. They also believe there are enemies out there who may be wishing them evil or behind their travails in life. The belief is that attending church shield them from the evil machination of enemies.
10. To search for Future Wife or Husband: This may appear funny but Lagosians especially the young unmarried ones attend church with the possibility of finding a future partner. it could be a future husband or a future wife. That is why many churches organize ‘Singles Fellowship’ where potential bachelors or spinsters could meet. This is actually one of the main reasons why young Lagosians attend church.
Wishing you all a happy Sunday.
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