“Selflessness is an act of sacrifice and self-denial and it encourages simplicity and placing others above one’s desire and needs,” the General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, said this when addressing participants of the Global Ministers and Wives’ Conference at the Pentecost Convention Centre on Tuesday.
Presenting a paper on the topic, “An Example of Christ’s Selflessness” at the conference, the General Secretary juxtaposed the life of Jesus Christ against the life of the Christian while identifying some key characteristics of Jesus that the Christian is expected to portray.
Apostle Kumi-Larbi said Jesus was tempted in the three basic causes of sin which are the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. “He however overcame the schemes of the devil with the word of God in which he was very knowledgeable,” he stressed.
He explained that Jesus looked beyond the immediate benefit he was going to get from falling prey to the temptation of Satan and focused on the disadvantages the sin would have on his relationship with God.
“Jesus realised that falling victim to the temptation which obviously appeared enticing could lead to a strained relationship with God, enmity with God and loss of spiritual sensitivity,” he explained adding that this could make a minister lose or abandon his ministry and the flock that has been entrusted to him by God.
Dwelling on 1Timothy 6:6-11 and Philemon 2:1-15, the General Secretary hinted that Paul knowing the schemes of the devil and the possible fall of man, admonished Christians to practice godliness which is revealed in showing piety and reverence to God.
He stated: “While Paul in his letter to Timothy preached contentment as one way of ensuring godliness, Peter in 2 Peter 3:10-12 challenged Christians to be alert to the ‘parousia’ by leading holy and godly lives.
Defining contentment as a state of being mentally and emotionally satisfied with things as they are, the General Secretary alluded to a case study involving Naboth’s vineyard and King Ahab as recorded in 1 Kings 21:1-3 of the Old Testament.
He said King Ahab was driven by covetousness to murder Naboth and acquire his vineyard. Apostle Kumi-Larbi enumerated among other thingslow self-esteem, the mentality of poverty and not knowing how much is enough as some of the causes of discontentment among people. He further prescribed antidotes such as restraining greed, watching out for signs of covetousness, learning to be content, deploying surplus, and emulating Christ’s life of simplicity.
The General Secretary eulogised his wife, Mrs Rose Kumi-Larbi, and the Chairman, Apostle Prof Opoku Onyinah, by acknowledging their selflessness and spirit of contentment while urging the wives of the ministers to put their husbands in godly check to ensure that they spend within their means and avoid financial mismanagement as well as corruption.
