Chris Okotie and the marriage institution

Rev Chris Okotie is in the news again. After a burst of the usual excitement and fun at the Sunday service at the Household of God on June 24, Okotie calmly announced that he and his latest wife had separated, irreversibly. According to the report, many were shocked at the announcement, indicating there were no visible signs of strains in the relationship. At CA! we are very reluctant to comment on this development lest someone gets the impression that we are kicking a man already on the ground – noting we had written briefly but poignantly and critically on the relationship when it was announced four years ago (http://churcharise.blogspot.com/2008/02/chris-okotie-unveils-new-wife-to-church.html). However reading Stephanie Henshaw’s facebook journal on the situation makes it clear that the issue is not just that of a private couple passing through trying times, but rather the continued and increasing abuse of God’s holy gift of matrimony in our society; and the consequent, inevitable fruits of gall being delivered to people who actually wished for a different outcome. Whereas the Scripture is quite clear on the fact that God is not mocked; and everyone must reap exactly what they sowed!. Stephanie Henshaw, quoting Scriptures all the way, cuts the picture of a loving wife, kicked out by her lover. “Fifteen years we have been the closest friends, I prepared all his meals for ten years including the four years we were married, the day I was asked to leave I prepared his meal, served it and I left,”, she bemoaned on the facebook account she opened just after the incident. Stephanie was blunt: she is being accused of being a witch and operating with mermaid spirit. She described this as a lie being orchestrated by other ladies “within the church” who are keen on replacing her in the matrimonial home. She however reminded the obviously plural group, “My going can bring one Mrs. Okotie, but what happens to the rest of you? ” She quipped. Which brings us to the core of the matter: the idea that marriage can be contracted and dissolved repeatedly ad infinitum, and with whoever - all as convenient, is fuel for the raging inferno that is tearing down the very basic fabrics of society, just as the Bible says will characterize the endtimes. The Scriptures is clear that God hates divorce, that even if divorce may be permitted (for the “hard-hearted” people, especially on the ground of adultery), those who marry a divorcee are considered adulterers, etc; (Mal. 2:16, Mat 19:9, 1 Cor 7:11). However these clear scriptural positions are fast becoming relegated to mere opinions that can not stand the rigours of “post modern times”. Whereas the Apostle Paul was clear in saying he wasn’t expressing personal opinion. : “And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord…..” he wrote in 1 Cor 7:10. No wonder the pressure of the same “post modern times” has no difficulty sweeping away homes build on such compromised foundations. Rev Chris Okotie happens to represent one of the most extreme schools of views on marriage. In his work of fiction, The Last Outcast, (which he insists is a direct revelation to him) he actually made a very strong case for polygamy (see CA! Vol * no *). In announcing Stephanie Henshaw as his new wife four years ago, Rev Okotie was quite blunt as to the basis of his choice: she is a woman of breath-taking beauty! Nothing else seemed to matter. The unfolding situation then should be food for thought to people who think the biblical counsels concerning marriage have become old-fashioned. Although it is difficult to believe the reports that Rev Okotie has actually announced he would be wedding again come December, since “it is not good that the man should live alone”; such a move would certainly be consistent with his adopted theology and attitude on marriage. It’s all part of man exercising ‘dominion’ over the woman! We hope the Church will note this. The direct and indirect assault of Satan’s goons on marriage is formidable enough. Expecting a successful blissful marriage while despising and trifling with the instructions of the Designer of Marriage is just not going to work. Thank God for the millions of God-honoring marriages in the world. These, and not rhetoric, are the unassailable evidence that God’s ideas work, and are in our best interest. Those who discountenance the Scriptures will forever keep wondering like Stephanie, what they did wrong. According to her “I submitted to the end. I did all I was asked to do, Lord.…. I wait, because I know in time God will make known what has gone wrong.” Might we suggest that attitude towards the marriage institution has far more important implications than many people seem to realize? Post Script To further complicate matters for Revd Okotie, [a young church member] is claiming to have had 3 abortions for the Pastor – raising another issue entirely, adultery. The lady said she decided to spare the fourth baby who many swear is a carbon copy of the pop-star turned preacher. The baby-girl, now about 13 years would therefore be Okotie’s only known child, since none of his two marriages to date produced any biological issue. As we have written before, it seems clear that a lax attitude to sex and marriage always leads down the slippery slope incorporating so many of the issues represented by Bill Gates’ new sexuality drive – infidelity, promiscuity, abortion, masturbation, homosexuality, pedophilia, incest, bestiality, etc, etc. These issues have now assumed epidemic proportions, and no amount of prudence and sobriety can ever be too much in these end days