By PETER AQUA
Catholic faithful at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Kabong, have been admonished to shun laziness, as it does not bear fruits in life.
In a Sunday sermon held recently, Reverend Fr. Bitrus Madugu urged the congregation to avoid a life of idleness by engaging in positive endeavours that benefitted not just the individual but humanity as a whole.
The theme of the sermon was, ‘He who would not work should not eat’, drawn from 2 Thessalonians 3:7, where St. Paul cautions believers to avoid every form of laziness by working to earn their own living.
Father Madugu explained that the fruit of idleness was gossip, adding: “In the past, we used to associate gossips with women, but it is clear that all those who are idle or have no work engage in gossip. If you are busy with work, you won’t have time to gossip.”
Emphasising the need to be hardworking, the cleric stated that God gave humans two hands, two legs and a brain to work, adding: “You cannot be doing nothing and expect results. If you want to have anything, then you must work to earn it. If you have and are not working, then you are a thief.”
He observed that some parents have the habit of over-pampering their children.
“Some parents still attend to the needs of their children who are 30 and 40 years old,” he said, arguing that such behaviour was wrong.
Father Madugu recounted an experience of how some mothers would apply pepper to their breasts to wean their children from breastfeeding.
By doing so consistently, the child eventually loses appetite for breast milk and becomes independent.
He explained that if parents were overly protective and always trying to please their children, the children remained dependent regardless of their age.
He concluded by emphasising that Christianity was based on positively impacting people’s lives through charity.
“Christians should focus more on giving. But how can you give when you don’t work?” he asked, stressing that “You must work in order to have something to give, for such is Christian service.”