May Day: Denying workers their wages is sin against God- Cleric

As workers across the world celebrated Workers Day on Sunday, May 01, 2016, a Pentecostal Bishop, Rt. Rev. Oluseun Adeoye has stated that refusal by any government to pay its workers salaries as at when due constitutes a great sin against the Almighty God. The clergyman who spoke during a special prayer session organised for all categories of workers at Sufficient Grace and Truth Ministry (SGTM), Rehoboth Arena, Okinni, Osun Stateo, also chided workers who refused to perform their official duties faithfully and expected to be paid. According to Bishop Adeoye, deliberate denial of workers of their wages “is absolutely not acceptable to God and the end result of this can be indeed devastating for those who held on to the workers right”. Quoting from the Bible, the cleric referred those in authority to the Books of Leviticus Chapter 19 verse 13, Malachi 3 verse 5, Deuteronomy 24 verses 14 and 15 and James 5 verse 4. “In particular, Deuteronomy 24 verse 15 says, ‘Thou shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee’”. “Those in position of authorities either in the public or private sector are warned not to oppress their hired servants. Indeed, it is clearer when God says the hired servants shall be paid before the sun go down because they have set their minds on their wages. “Workers who are not paid could be at the risk of dying early. And a single soul to God is far more important than several kilometers of road tarred. Payment of wages to workers is a responsibility that cannot be waved off by those in the position of authority”. He warmed that a government that neglected the cry of its workers over their wages “is doing that against the Lord who is the Judge of all”. “If you are the president of a nation or the governor of a state, you need to know that you get into that office by the grace of God and not by your power. We will all give account of what we do to God”, he added. Bishop Adeoye also called on workers to discharge their duties loyally to their bosses and not with eye services “for them to receive God’s special blessings upon their wage”.