ABIDING BY THE WORD IN AN ABNORMAL WORLD 1(Giving)

Until the scripture becomes life to you, you have not learnt it yet.
Until you comprehend the words of the scriptures, you may never fully live it.
Until you see others live your weaknesses as their strengths, you may never overcome nor have enough faith needed to overcome them.
It is easy to have a bank of memory verses in one's heart and yet war fiercely to exercise them.

Do you agree?
Turn your Bible to Proverbs 3:27


Withhold not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
What if they don’t deserve it?
What if you’ve been fooled once, twice or thrice?
What if you think the Lordu understands this as your weakness?
Well, welcome to someone's world



The coldness of the room, the comfortable bed, the silent night, the dim lights and the dreamland pillows made Tasha slept beautifully well. It has been ages she had 'the Jesus sleeping in the storm' kind of sleep. She was really enjoying it until her alarm clock rang. Damn!!! She was unhappy. She woke up hastily. She had tons of work lined up for the day and a second of a second  round of sleep may cost her dearly.

She rushed up her prayers and beauty routines. She took some money and  assumed that would be more than enough to cater for her day.

She was quick to join thousands of Lagosians in the hustle to get a bus on the busiest roads of Ikotun.

She had a national document to pick up first  at the local government office in Ikorodu.


Thereafter, she was supposed to get the 'statement of account' of a company from the branch closet to her office located at Ikeja, but before then, she was also meant to pick up the letter requesting for the 'statement of account'  at her head office at Marina which was quite in the opposite direction from all her route.

Afterwards, she was to reply to some emails and send business proposals to companies. She had a plateful, running over day ahead of her.

She took 3 buses simultaneously to get to the Local Government office at Ikorodu. She looked at the woman who sat beside her on the same bus with disdain. The woman was an elderly woman probably in her late 40’s or early 50’s. She looked really tidy and popped up. Tasha assumed she made herself looked all popped up on purpose so she could beg for money. Although Tasha had more than enough money with her, she deliberately did not give the woman fifty naira to complete her transport fare. She had been greatly scammed by beggars in Lagos. Lagos for her, is known as the city of scammers. It was her last experience that made her never to stop or think of helping any stranded person on the road in Lagos.

She met a man a year ago at Union Bank ATM at Ojuelegba. He was corporately dressed and dandy. He looked like he just closed from work and was stranded. She wanted to talk to him but she changed her mind. The man ran after hera fter she had walked some miles.

'Hello ma'. he said panting.

'Hi'. she replied. Looking at him suspiciously.

'Ma, please I need you to help me. My card got swallowed by the machine, the bank is closed and I don't do mobile banking. I am really…lly stranded. I have to get some necessary provisions for my pregnant wife and I also need some money to go back home. Please, I will like you to give me 5k and your account number. First thing on Monday morning, I promise I will send you the money'. He added.

He looked innocent. She believed him.  She went back to the ATM and withdrew her last 5k for him.

Monday came, she called, he picked and told her she would get it soon. Then Tuesday came, Wednesday came, Thursday came then Friday. He kept saying she would get it.

One week passed, two, weeks passed, three weeks and a month passed. He kept saying she would get it.

She got frustrated and stopped wasting her airtime following up. She also thought maybe he was poor and didn’t have money to pay back.So she let go.

Then one night…around that same ATM, she saw the man, begging another person in the same manner for money. She quickly rushed the man on his neck.

'You freaky good for nothing Gehazi!' she shouted. 'Today you must give me my money oh, Ole, thief, barawo, cheat, cooperate beggar, deceiver…' she held on to his neck till he was almost choking.

It was passers-by that rescued him from her hands. The bitter thing about it was that the man denied it and almost got her arrested.

Imagine!!!

That was the peak for her.

The sight of the cooperate dressed lady  irritated her greatly. It reminded her of the cooperate beggar. She hissed and eyed her as she alighted from the bus. Who knows? She  might even be that man's wife.

The national document at the Local government office took more time than she estimated. She was fatigued. She looked for a Buka and luckily, she found a one in the Local government Office and bought a decent bowl of hot Amala with Yoruba stew and offal straight from the firewood. She used two bottles of cold water to push it down. She was fully energetic afterwards and went back to struggle to get the national document. It took her 5 hours of
pushing and fighting and queueing with different offensive body odours and sweats before she got it.

She quickly took another commercial bus to her head office and was greatly disappointed and offended that her MD whom she took time calling and following up on with text messages had left the office.


She had to travel to Yaba, another distance to meet him. She was pissed off. She hissed all the way to meet him. It's easier being a Christian and getting one's temperaments under control on Sundays.

She did catch up with him around 3:45pm and bank closes by 4pm. The road was blocked and she wondered if she would get the statement.

A woman was murmuring at the bus stop about how hard it was getting a bus where she’s standing.

Ha!!! Tasha thought it’s over for her. She explained her predicament to the lady.

'Oh!!! Don’t stress yourself, young lady. You go to Wema bank branch in Unilag  and tell them I sent you. The bank manager will attend to you’.

Finally!!!

Tasha said a billion thank you and ran to the bank. She got there 4:30 and the bank was closed. She gave the woman’s name to the security and they let her in.

In less than 10 mins, the statement of account was ready and she left there happily.


The next bus ride was great. She ordered an Uber cab from Unilag to Yaba. The cab was fully air conditioned and very comfortable. She was craving for some ice cream and gala so she got some . Thanks to the traffic from Unilag gate to WAEC bustop. After enjoying it to the last bite, she realised she’s broke. She had no single penny left in her purse and she still had 3 more bus rides to do. She had no ATM card on her. She was really confused.

She thought of going to the office to first drop the statement and look for a Friend to take a loan from but she didn’t even have money to take her to the office.

'Madam Tassssssssssssssssaaaaaah'. She heard someone screaming her name from another bus.

She looked up. It’s her colleague. The person she was supposed to give the report to.

She quickly stopped and begged both drivers to wait.

She ran and gave her the statement.

Now, she didn’t have to go to the office. But she’s still penniless and stranded on the busy road of Lagos.

She needed N500 to get home.

Who will she ask?

Suddenly, she has become what she hated most -A cooperate begger.

She tried begging the mallams in the bureau D change across yaba market but they told her they didn’t have even N50 to spare. She was lost.

She entered the Ikotun bus that came next by faith. She sat beside a not so fine and casually dressed dude. She listened to his phone conversation. He didn’t look like the money he spoke about on phone.

So she said a quick prayer and swallowed plenty saliva before asking him for money. She was confused about how to and the conductor was already close.

'Hello, good afternoon sir, please can I ask you for a favour?' She asked humbly with her eyes on his shoes.

'You can ask me anything dear.' he smiled.

'I am  penniless and I’m going to the mainland, please can you pay my fare just to Ikotun?' she asked.

'That is all?' he looked surprised.

'Sure' Athough she knew that’s not all. She will beg again on the next bus.

The guy brought out 2k and gave her.

She was shocked.


'Is it not ironical that someone who couldn’t give out N50 this morning is now the one begging for money?  She shamefully asked him.

'You, ever heard Withhold not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thine hand to do and say not to your neighbour come tomorrow when you can help him today,?'  He asked her smiling


'Yeah…I have' . Scratching her head,  trying hard to remember  what part that was in the Bible. She brought out her phone  and searched google.'


'Well, it's easy to recite but hard to practice in a world of scammers. But there is grace to live it' .

Tasha learnt.

No matter the valid excuses the world may offer us to throw away the will of God for all reasons, even in our acts of giving,  we can overcome.  There is grace for us in Christ Jesus for us to give abundantly.

Dearest dear,

Do not withhold!
Live the word!

Hope you were blessed reading this?

If you were, then you'll enjoy write up below;
The power of love not love songs
https://greystripesofsarah.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-power-of-love-not-love-songs.html


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Written by Munu Ogheneochuko and edited by Opeyemi James.