In a recent post on his official Facebook page, Reverend Father Kelvin Ugwu, a Catholic priest on mission in Gambia, emphasized a broader understanding of purity beyond just sexual conduct.
He urged Christians to reflect on the purity of their hearts and minds, not just their physical actions.
"When you mention purity, most people just think about sex and virginity, but when I preach about purity, it goes deeper than that," Father Kelvin explained. "Some people are virgins but have dirty hearts and evil minds. Purity also entails being truthful. Many of you are never truthful to yourselves and the people around you."
He highlighted the hypocrisy of those who outwardly practice religious rituals but treat others poorly, particularly those in servitude. "Some attend church and prayer ministries, but the way they treat their maids or drivers is nothing but evil," he said, pointing to a disconnect between professed faith and actual behavior.
Father Kelvin recounted a personal experience with such hypocrisy, detailing the insults he received from self-proclaimed followers of a prophet of God. "Just last week, the type of insults I got from people who claim they are followers of a prophet of God is another example of people whose hearts are dark and far from purity. The height of it all is them wishing evil on my Mum so that she will be brought to their prayer ministry and I will be at their mercy. I have all the screenshots."
He urged his followers to heed the Bible's teaching that "nothing impure will see God" and called for a continuous purging of hearts from bitterness, vile thoughts, and evil. "If someone corrects you, take the correction. If you feel you can't take it, why insult the person? Is that what Christianity is about?"