Founder and General Overseer of Action Chapel International, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, has said he often refuses requests from people who approach him for financial support to get married, stressing that marriage requires responsibility and preparedness beyond love or appearances.
According to him, many people focus on organising weddings and engagements without adequately preparing for life after marriage.
Speaking on TV3 as monitored by NewsDesksGH on January 23, the archbishop addressed reactions to an earlier sermon in which he suggested that a man who cannot show at least GH¢100,000 in his bank account should not be planning a wedding.
“It’s just a word in passing because you know of the truth that if you really want to have a wedding today, as we all know and understand, you need more than a 100,000 anyway. What I was trying to establish is people should understand that marriage is not just love or looks, but its responsibility.”
He noted that many people only seem to focus on the ceremonies but they don’t prepare for after the marriage, and said his comments were aimed at encouraging people to take marriage seriously and to prepare financially and emotionally before taking such a major step.
According to the archbishop, he regularly encounters individuals seeking financial help to marry, but he declines such requests.
“So many people come to see me for help to marry and I tell them no, you can’t marry, you don’t have what it takes. I won’t give you money because if you don’t have money, why are you going to marry?” He questioned.
Referencing biblical principles, Archbishop Duncan-Williams argued that marriage is meant for adults who are independent and capable of taking responsibility for their households.
“The Bible says ‘For this purpose shall a man leave his father and mother.’ A man is one that has come of age. One that is responsible. Not a boy. Boys are dependent, but men are independent.”
He also cautioned parents against funding weddings for their children even when they can afford to do so.
“I don’t think parents who can afford paying for the weddings or marriages of their kids should encourage that. If you want to give them money, put it in a savings account to help them.”
The archbishop stressed that if someone has not planned, saved and prepared, then they are not ‘qualified’ to marry.
