Why I Didn’t Join The Army – Adeboye
The renowned cleric who spoke on Sunday during his sermon at the Churchβs monthly Thanksgiving Service said he had always loved the Army but his late mother did not allow him to join the military.

Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the Senior Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, has opened up about why he did not join the Army, despite that being his biggest wish.
The renowned cleric who spoke on Sunday during his sermon at the Churchβs monthly Thanksgiving Service said he had always loved the Army but his late mother did not allow him to join the military.
Acknowledging the presence of the military, paramilitary, and other security forces in attendance for the special program, Adeboye, who cited 2 Timothy 2:3, where the Bible talks about βenduring hardness as a good soldier of Christβ, said, βI wanted to be a soldier, itβs my mother who didnβt allow me.β
Speaking further on how he told his mum about it after graduation, he said his mother requested that he should allow her to die before he would take the decision.
βAnd I told her that I wanted to join the army after I graduated (from the university), and she said to me, βYouβre my only son. Iβm not asking you not to join the army, just wait till I die and you have buried me, then you can do whatever you want.β
Adeboye said this was in the 1960s, and that by the time she died in the 1990s, βit was already too late for me to join the army. But I love the Army.β
βMaybe another time I will tell you the reasons.β
He said he loved the Army so much that he would always watch films and other documentaries that had to do with the military.
βBecause I love the Army, I watched every film, cinema, anything that had to do with the military. And Iβm telling you I saw what changed the civilians to the iron men,β the cleric said.
He said the fact people saw the military men in fine uniforms did not mean they knew what the soldiers had passed through before wearing those uniforms
βYou see them in beautiful dresses, they look nice, maybe you should check what goes on from the day they enlist till the day they begin to march in ceremonial dress, you will know what is called hardness, you will know what is called endurance,β Adeboye added.