‘No job, no marriage, ‘ Adeboye urges women to prioritise suitor’s financial stability over religious performance

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has shared a set of marital guidelines for young women, emphasising financial stability and the suitor’s character over religious performance.

In an address during the May edition of the Holy Ghost Service, the cleric emphasised that spiritual discernment and domestic competence must outweigh physical attraction and social status.

“No matter how religious the brother may be, or how well he prays in tongues, ask him: ‘Have you a job?’” Adeboye said.

Citing Genesis 2, he noted that God gave Adam a job before giving him a wife. “Job first, wife later. If he has no job, how is he going to take care of the family? The Bible made it clear that any man who cannot provide for his own home is worse than an infidel.”

“If he says I am a contractor, ask him to give you evidence of the contract he had executed before. Otherwise, you will be the contract,” Adeboye added.

Warning against “sweet-tongued” men, he quoted Proverbs 29:5 regarding the dangers of flattery.

He also humorously recounted his own “bad boy” days before being born again to illustrate how deceptive romantic poetic expressions can be.

The cleric concluded by telling women to “pin down” potential suitors on the issue of holiness.

He warned that if a man claims to be a child of God but struggles with the commandment “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” the woman should flee.

“If he does not believe in holiness, run,” Adeboye said.

PUNCH reports that while addressing the men during the service, Adeboye warned against being blinded by physical appearance, cautioning that a lack of prayer could lead a man to inadvertently “choose a demon” because of outward beauty.

He also urged men not to marry a woman who cannot cook, uses “excessive makeup,” and demands a wedding ceremony that would lead to debt.

Adeboye reportedly told church workers that Nigeria’s next president, ahead of the 2027 general elections, has already been determined by God, stressing that the outcome of the election is beyond human influence, and that divine will ultimately prevail.