As the festive season approaches, Rev. Fr. Chidi Philip delivers a striking message that calls for deep reflection among Christians. According to him, many believers are quick to donate huge sums to church projects during Christmas, yet become uncomfortable or dismissive when someone close by needs something as small as ₦5,000 to buy food.
He reminds the faithful that while supporting the church is important, the first house of God is the human being created in His image. And this December, the true test of love and generosity is not in decorating church buildings, but in touching the lives of those quietly struggling around us.
Fr. Philip urges Christians to look beyond the walls of the church and notice:
- The child who wears the same torn clothes every Sunday
- The neighbor’s daughter who has never owned Christmas clothes
- The family who will boil yam on Christmas Day while others cook jollof
- The widow pretending to fast because there is nothing to eat
- The brother who smiles in church but cries in secret
“We decorate altars but ignore actual lives,” he warns.
He calls on everyone to make this December different:
- Buy Christmas clothes for a child with none
- Put food in someone's kitchen
- Pay a student's school fees
- Visit the sick
- Support a widow
- Send help to a struggling family
- Call someone going through depression
- Share love that costs something
Fr. Philip describes the rise of photocopy Christianity—a version that appears holy inside church yet shows no compassion outside it. He insists that the real temples of the Holy Spirit are hungry, hurting, hopeful people, not cement buildings.
This season, he urges Nigerians to let their Christmas be a blessing—especially to those who cannot repay them. Only then, he says, can we claim to have truly built anything for God.
As we enter the yuletide period, his message serves as a powerful reminder: Christianity shines brightest not in offerings, but in compassion.
— ReportNaija
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