Nahhh, I can’t take this!

There is a certain way you feel when certain people treat you in certain ways.  It’s the kind of feeling that first ties your tongue in shock. When you finally find your voice, you say something like ‘can you imagine?’ to no one in particular.

That is how the keke guy who carried me the other day must have felt. It all started when the lady seated beside the guy just next to me announced her stop almost too late. The keke guy had to grind to a sudden halt, nearly hitting the table belonging to a road side fruit seller who had barely managed to keep the fruits on top of one another. While he was still recovering from the James Bond stunt her late ‘o wa o’ had required, she offered him her transport fare with her left hand. That is when the nuts flew off. ‘Can you just imagine?’, he began the rant. He was so angry at her lack of respect that he decided he was no longer going to Ajah, leaving the rest of us to begin a new keke search. He felt slighted.

That feeling is the same thing that hit the taxi driver whose office is my estate gate. You see, he had been driving innocently, going his own way, when a black SUV touched his car on the side, scratching it a bit. The occupants of the car did not seem to notice, or perhaps they did but just didn’t care. The taxi driver was furious, he would not have that nonsense. Winding down a little more, he hit the side of the SUV closest to him with his fist, demanding attention from the driver or maybe even an apology. Well, he got more attention than he bargained for. The doors of the SUV swung open and out came four police men. They dragged him out of his car and beat him till his cries invited the sympathies of onlookers who saved him from their wrath. He felt slighted, they felt even more slighted.

So twenty minutes later, when oga driver thought the worst was over, and stood chilling in his office with other cab men.  I witnessed the return of the police men. This time they came with a police van and physically bundled him into their van. His ‘insubordination’ earned him a night in their cell. Concerned, I asked after him the next day. Yes, he had been bailed by his brothers just that morning and was somewhere receiving treatment. He had been seriously beaten by angry police men drunk on their pride, maybe even on booze. Just because he felt slighted.

That is the same way Ahitophel felt when for the first time ever, the ‘king’ refused to take his sensible counsel. Ahitophel couldn’t process it. That Absalom, small Absalom whose christening he witnessed rejected his counsel. Him, who had counselled David- Absalom’s father all these years. Him, whose words carried nearly the same weight as the word of God. Him, who everyone knew was never wrong. This little twerp that is not even completely king yet dares to seek and take another advice after he has spoken. No way. What is life when people who could not dare pronounce your name without quivering now openly disregard you? He put his house in order and swiftly hung himself. He’d rather be dead than witness this insubordination and insult. Ahitophel felt slighted.

That must have been how Ziba felt too. The king asked for a survivor from Saul’s family, Ziba was kind enough to provide information about the existence of a good for nothing cripple who was only fortunate to bear Saul’s royal blood. Did he get any thanks? No. Instead David gave the cripple all Saul’s property and commissioned Ziba and his sons to look after the cripple and his new wealth. He felt slighted- Eh, what kind of advance slavery is this? Never the less, the king’s word is law. So Ziba became Mephiboseth’s care taker. But he made up his mind, this nonsense will only last a while. Opportunity soon arrived, when the king was in a battle with an enemy within. Ziba showed his loyalty with gifts and food for David and his men. He didn’t stop there, he took the opportunity to explain how ungrateful Mephiboseth had aligned with David’s enemies despite the king’s kindness. David, tired of being betrayed transferred ownership of Saul’s property to Ziba. By the time dust settled and Mephiboseth’s true loyalty was revealed, the best David could do was share the property between Ziba and Mephiboseth. A man who feels slighted can go to any length.

Four stories, the same feeling. Not so happy endings. Got me wondering; what if I am disrespected or sidelined or all those other things that terribly annoy us, and I do nothing. Like take absolutely no step at establishing or reclaiming my status. What would happen? Nothing! My bank account won’t deflate, I won’t get even shorter, my certificates won’t disappear, the Holy Spirit won’t leave me, My family won’t disown me, Unclebae will not deny me,  the person I see next will not see marks of abuse on my body. Nothing at all will happen.

Yes, there are those times when a redress is necessary to avoid future occurrence. But it is often better to calm down first and consider matters. Many times, you’ll find that the person or situation is not worth the trouble. If Ahitophel had stayed alive, he would have seen Absalom’s life come to an untimely end and had the luxury of saying: Ntoo, I told you so. That cab driver put his family in distress and missed work for a number of days, maybe even incurred scars that will last for life. And if I had been able to get the picture I so wanted, those policemen would have lost their jobs too. All for what?

According to Jesus, offences abound. Woe to the man through whom they come and the one who picks them up. Try to not  create offence, try to not  pick up offences too. To be happy and fruitful, this is the way.

@lofemide

Bunmi Aramide