I MAY HAVE BEEN CALLED BY GOD, BUT I HAVE NOT LEFT ACTING -Liz Benson

 

Liz Benson, a Nollywood superstar, left the movie scene few years back and she is now an Evangelist, and is married to a Bishop.

In this interview with Yetunde Willoughby, the movie idol spoke about her past, family background, and her exploit in the acting world, her career as an actress, relationship with God and her call to evangelical ministry.

Can you tell us about your growing up and the family you came from

I came from a very humble background, that's why I rejoice so much in what God is doing with me, He is making me an encouragement to so many people who think that they need to have a particular kind of background to be able to break even.

Its' not about your career, background or about where you are coming from, it's about what God has put in your life, how you realized God in your life. In a previous test, I didn't see any other person I could go to, the person I went to for an encouragement put me down then I remembered that I had a God and I went to Him.

And, over the years, He turned things around for me, so it's not about where I come from or my family, I rejoice for God that put me in a humble family and decided to take me out of obscurity into visibility, which is the most interesting area of my life. Like Esther, God made her to shine, I have so much similarity with Esther. Though, I was brought up by both parents, I was not a minister's child, it was a humble call, what makes the difference is the divine call of God.

The Bible says bring up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. There is still something about God in me and when I grew up, with all the razzmatazz, the paparazzi and all that, that thing drew me back unto Him. And I think it's all about Jesus, not about who your godfather or god-uncle is, it is about where you are going to be with God.

When did you actually give your life to Christ

I got born-again in 1996 in Apostle Anslem Madubuko's Church Revival Assembly in Lagos. He made an altar call, that was for me  I've been a believer all my life, I was born into a Christian home, but it's one of the things that just set you apart from just being a Christian because some people are just too good, but not born again. You need to be, if you are not yet born again it's just like the saying you ain't started yet. So, 1996 was my year.

How did you encounter Christ

Mine was not like Apostle Paul, mine was actually from God. Here was a life that was almost turned upside down by the reason of losing the father of my kids, my late husband. So many things went wrong in my life, but I believed in simple prayers of a believer which has been keeping me through and God became my hope and I hung unto that hope, and I was able to take care of my three children all alone with God. I was able to do many things that people said I would not do because I was written off, I was almost like a rejected stone, but after that altar call, all I could see is Jesus paying total cost for me on the cross of Calvary.

Then I asked God that what can I do for you even my life is not my own, I will do anything you want me to do, just to appreciate you father. It took years and years and believing God with the help of the Holy Spirit at my near dead situations. Early 2000, the conviction came and from that time, it has been what Jesus said to me. I followed and I have not looked back since 1996. It was a nurturing, grooming process for me and a season of Jesus saying, welcome back home. At first, when you newly come out and give your life to Christ, it is a step in the right direction, but you need a lot of spinning, a lot nurturing to receive that conviction. I tell you, until you receive it; either spontaneously or instantaneously, it's a lie to say you have Christ in you.

How was your life like before you gave your life to Christ

There is nothing like being terrible, it's just like living your life without Christ and thinking you don't owe him that which he came to give to you, my life has been that of a normal Christian, go to Church, do one or two things, but the conviction was not there. As a true and honest Christian, there is a part in the Bible that says there will be a time when Jesus will seek true worshippers, for me everything was just happening, and things I did and shouldn't have done, like the drinking aspect of it, some people use the excuse, drink a little for the tummy and other things like that. There's a portion in the Bible that says 'give a strong drink to a Priest,' there is another one that says 'don't give a strong drink to a foolish man, when he has finished drinking and he is drunk and when he wakes up his sorrow is still in front of him.'

There are many things I have done in the past, I was not so conscious of the fact that I was a destiny carrier and when you are one, you need to set apart from some things. You become a model; you become a weapon in the hand of God.

Now that you are into evangelism, are you involved in Christian movies or you can still act in secular movies

I have always been careful and selective with what I do, it has never really been about the money, it has been about what is the message there, what is it going to do in people's lives. Because for me, I have done so many things in the past that is why 'am very careful with any involvement now. If it's a good story, I will back it up with the gospel according to Jesus Christ, there is no two way about it, I am not going to reduce standard, try to negotiate or come into compromise. I have never done it before, why should I do it now.

How do you strike a balance between evangelism and acting

There is nothing like striking a balance, God is always there for me.

Do you still act

It's just like you asking a banker if he is still a banker. Outside counting money at the counter properly, working in the administrative section, you could move to any area of banking. The purpose of our being on planet earth is to affect lives, so you need to realize that purpose. I am made by God to fulfill His purpose of creating me, He didn't make me to come and die in the film industry, but to glorify His name.

People out there feel that your role in the film, True Confession Really depicts your true character, how do you defend that

I will only laugh at this, it means they don't understand what make-believe world is, I can see a lot of people when they watch a film, they get carried away with it. But I think it only got to show the dexterity of the actor, I mean I acted so well in the film that you believed what you saw. But of course meeting me makes the difference, if that was truly how I was, then how come I was doing other roles that were so different from that one.

Do you have a ministry of your own

All Glory belongs to God. I am married to a bishop, we are both nurturing the assembly called Freedom Family Assembly in Delta State, so I still have my evangelical ministry and now also I have all the children in the Church, I feed and train them according to the grace which God gives to me.

How do you feel moving away from a lucrative career that brought you fame and fortunes into the ministry

I have not moved, this is another understanding that people don't have yet at this point. I will beg to say that the devil is a liar. God said I will equip you with that which to preach the Gospel. God has made me stronger so that when any other one comes up, people will see it and know that God is God.

Some of your colleagues are migrating from film into music, but yours is from movie to ministry, what is the motivation

It's all about growth. It is about change, whichever way you look at it, you have to move, you cannot be stagnant. We are to bring out the best in us, the much that is bottled inside us to showcase to the world of women, you need to look inward and seek the vision and that talent you have will be awakened to impact other lives positively.

From the religious perspective, how will you access the film industry

Nollywood is like every other field; the only difference is that they are in the spotlight. There is good and bad in it and every member of the industry comes from a family, they are flesh and blood like you, they have their flaws. To God be the glory, but in any form we find ourselves, we are still practicing whatever God wants us to do, in any career you belong, like you journalists go through lots of persecutions, humiliation, rejection, all sort of things just to be able to bring out what God has put inside you.

So, Nollywood is going through some sanitizations, and I believe that by God' grace, we will be able to pull ourselves together and do something better and greater to the world.

I don't like the way people sweat as Christmas goat in the industry, we go through a lot of frustrations trying to put these films out, many people don't know these. We are getting somewhere in life and as you and I begin to realize the love of God in our lives, we spread it together in the movie world and beyond.

Do you have any regret or any experience you want to share with us

I have no regret whatsoever, from the story of Joseph, I have learnt not to allow my past to affect my present and with that of many other people in the Bible, I have learnt not to be loose or speak negatively about past things. Honestly, I can't say much about my experience. Like I said, I gave my life to Christ in 1996 and since then I have been involved in near dead situations. I have been in involved in a tanker accident and God got me out, I have been shot at, at close range and I came out of it. I almost lost my daughter and God brought her back to life, so many things and if I begin to mention, what of the ones He has done that I can't see, that is why I keep on thanking God for His mercy is new every morning, great is His faithfulness toward us.

Is there anything that happened to you that you never wanted to tell anybody

A problem shared is a problem solved, I have tried to live as simple as I can. I share my experiences with people, so they can learn from it. Like my father used to say, contentment, and humility are necessary and those things have come to play now. So, for me, contentment has been the keyword. I have not found a situation that will push me against anything; I am never a hide and seek kind of person.

April 05, 2011