Praise and worship was Rosie’s favourite part of church service. It was the only time she fully applied herself, and her joy during praise was one of the first things that had attracted her to Kofi. She enthusiastically sang and danced to every song. It was what came after—the sermon—that bored her the most. She found much of the preaching to be abstract and unrelatable, and she thought many of the quotations were taken out of context to push whatever agenda the preacher wanted to push. On top of that, some of the texts were contradictory and unfair to women. She had hoped that Reverend Akrong would give a sermon that would pique her interest for once, but she should have known that after the look she had shared with the Reverend, he wouldn’t be able to resist sharing a sermon about women’s insolence.
She sat in the congregation next to her deacon husband in the front row as the church’s overseer pontificated on the importance of humility in women. As he passionately expressed his disappointment in modern women, she could barely resist rolling her eyes. On and on he went, sipping from his bottle of water intermittently. Nothing annoyed Rosie more than the impassioned way he was speaking, using hand gestures to punctuate his wild statements.
“As a man, you have to ask yourself if the woman that you’re spending your life with is a helper or a detractor. The Bible says that God created Eve to be a helper for Adam. Without Adam, there would be no Eve. But Adam existed before Eve. Adam lived in the Garden of Eden and in harmony with God and all living things before Eve came to be. And what happened after Eve was created? The devil, seeing a weak-minded version of Adam, came to Eve and deceived her. Why didn’t the serpent go straight to Adam?”
He paused for effect and then continued, “He knew that he would not be as easily deceived! Adam stayed in the garden of Eden with the serpent for many years with no trouble. The serpent stayed in his lane, and Adam stayed in his. Until Eve. Children of God, what lessons do we draw from this story? What does this tell us? It tells us that as men, it is your duty to guide and lead your wives. It is your responsibility to curtail any wayward, rebellious, and strong-headed behaviour. The story of the first couple tells us that a man has more wisdom and a greater ability to resist temptation when it comes from outside the woman. Women can be weak-minded in general, and even worse when it gets to matters of the spirit. That is why God created Eve after Adam. Adam could survive on his own in the garden. However, Eve could not. So she came after the man! Am I speaking to somebody?”
At the congregation’s hoots of “Yeeesss” and “Preeeacch,” he continued in the same impassioned tone. “A woman who does not submit her life to her husband not only risks ruining her husband but also risks destroying her family and the world at large. Many families are cursed today because of women who refused to be guided by their husbands. Today, there are so many broken homes because women are no longer patient, humble, or dependent on their husbands. They have become arrogant, argumentative, and wayward. Prosperity is eluding many families because wives no longer listen to their husbands. They allow the ways of the world to deceive them.”
He paused again for effect, happy with the reaction he was getting from the congregation.
From her seat next to her husband, Nana Adjoa was uneasy with the sermon. A few weeks ago, it would have left her feeling guilty for the few rebellious thoughts that sneaked into her head about her husband and their marriage, but now she listened with a different mindset. There was still a little sense of guilt, but it was overshadowed by the sense of clarity. She lived most of her life to please her husband and deferred to him in many ways, which sometimes led to major losses for the family. She knew she was more intuitive and a better planner than he was, but his decision was final as the head of the house. She had missed opportunities because she listened to him, and he had lost money and had problems at work because he refused to listen to her opinion or advice. She had been forced to start petty trading in secret when he refused to allow her to work, despite the fact that his income couldn’t sustain the family. Embarrassment from constantly having to depend on the generosity of the church and her family had forced her to listen to her cousin Anima from Accra, who had advised her to start selling fabric to the women at church. Anima had given her the initial batch of fabric on loan, and as Nana Adjoa sold them, she paid back and was sent more stock. Now, she has a successful fabric business at the market. It had been easier for her to hide her business at the beginning because her husband had been at a prayer retreat out of town when the goods first arrived, and many of her customers were also buying in secret. By the time he caught on, it was too late, and he couldn’t stop her since Reverend Akrong’s wife had become a customer. He had relented and stopped complaining about her petty trading after he saw that she was bringing in more money than he was. Then he took credit for it and made himself the manager.
They were living a very comfortable life with their children because of her business, and Nana Adjoa knew that if she had completely deferred to Paul and left him to lead like Reverend Akrong was saying, she wouldn’t have her business, and she and her husband would still be dependent on the generosity of others to cover all their living expenses and take care of their kids. In fact, if she wasn’t hiding some of the money and lying about the profit being made, Paul would have led the business into debt. If she had followed him as blindly as the Reverend was proposing women follow their husbands, she would be poor, dependent, and unfulfilled.
Thinking about unfulfillment, she glanced to her left at Mary, feeling a stab of pity for her friend. Mary had dedicated her life to serving her husband wholeheartedly and taking care of her kids. Where had that led her? She had no life apart from Fiifi, and she was unhappy and unfulfilled. Mary’s expression as she listened to the sermon was thoughtful, and Nana Adjoa hoped that she was not buying into the nonsense the Reverend was spewing either.
She felt a stab of guilt for thinking about the Man of God that way, but she also felt justified and hoped God would forgive her.
While Nana Adjoa pondered, Reverend Akrong continued his sermon.
“Is your wife a blessing or a curse? Ask yourself honestly. Is she leading you to God or moving you away from the divine? Many young men nowadays are letting women lead them instead of the other way around. I weep for such men, because they have allowed the serpent access to their lives through a woman, and it will have dire consequences for their generation.”
He glanced subtly in Kofi and Rosie’s direction before moving on.
Rosie swallowed her anger and reached for her husband’s hand. His eyes switched to her in surprise. She smiled at him, and watching her, he remembered how she had uprooted her life to follow him to this town. He hadn’t asked her—he had been too afraid to. Besides, he had seen what a sacrifice asking her to do that would be, so he had held on to the transfer letter until she had asked him what was bothering him. He hadn’t asked her to move her life; she had offered. He knew that she herself wasn’t nearly as interested in spirituality and religion as he was, but she had been supportive of his dreams and aspirations. She was a city girl used to comfort, but she had left her friends and family to this small town because he was transferred here. How could she be anything other than a divine blessing?
Filled with love for her, he gave her a smile that conveyed how much he appreciated her.
From the pulpit, Reverend Akrong saw the exchange between the couple and was far from pleased. He had hoped to plant a seed of doubt in his deacon. However, unlike the other young men that were lapping up his sermon like honey, he could see that the sermon had the opposite effect on Deacon Kofi.
Mildly annoyed, he finished the sermon and asked the congregation to rise and pray. Before he closed his eyes himself, he chanced a look at Rosie and saw her watching him without any of the reverence a lot of the congregation gave him. It was clear that what he had seen in her eyes before service started had not been a fluke.
Disconcerted by the boldness and challenge in her eyes, he closed his eyes to pray for the congregation.
“Great sermon today, wasn’t it?” Fiifi asked his wife after the service was over and patrons were leaving.
Mary did not respond. She was in deep thought.
“I hope you were paying attention, Mary. It was quite educational. Reverend Akrong is such a powerful man of God,” Fiifi added, not noticing his wife’s demeanour.
“Fiifi, since we married, I have been obedient, submissive, and deferring to you. What else do you want from me?”
Pastor Fiifi gaped at his wife, shocked by her response.
“I didn’t say that you weren’t a good wife, Mary, but there are times when I feel —”
“Excuse me, I can see the others waiting for me. We have another prayer circle meeting today. See you later at home,” she interrupted before turning to leave her stunned husband behind. He stood there for a few seconds, staring after her.
“Is there a problem, Pastor?” Reverend Akrong, who saw the end of the exchange, asked as he approached Fiifi.
“Oh, no, Reverend,” Fiifi denied, startled by his sudden presence. There was no way he was going to admit to his mentor that his wife had talked back at him in that manner. He planned to speak to her when he returned home that evening. Maybe she was in her menstrual period. Still, it didn’t excuse any sort of insolence.
“Are you sure?” the Reverend probed.
“Very, Reverend. That was a powerful sermon you gave today.”
Rev. Akrong smiled. “I’m glad you think so.”
At the entrance, Mary finally joined the two women after being stopped several times by other church members on her way to them.
“I think you were right,” she said after they were out of earshot. “Fiifi has always been overbearing, but I now believe that Reverend Akrong also influences his actions.”
“Can you believe the misogynistic sermon he gave today?” Rosie asked, incensed.
“I have heard several versions of it over the years, but this is the first time I am seeing it for exactly what it is,” Mary confessed in a low tone.
“Me too!” Nana Adjoa seconded. “Honestly, I’ve had some misgivings in the past, but this is the first time I have allowed myself to see how greatly unfair it is to women.”
“Come on, ladies, let’s walk to my house before someone else stops me to chat,” Mary suggested, and they started walking in the direction of her house.
“I’m ready for this prayer session. Rosie, I hope I can borrow that book for the week.”
Rosie laughed, delighted that Nana Ajoa was coming around. “My dear, I ordered fresh copies just for you two. You won’t want to return it when you start reading.”
In better spirits, the three women walked to Mary’s house for another prayer circle meeting.
