My rant on the thin line between evil and good

Lots of evil things happening in the world today makes us forget sometimes that there are still those kind hearted individuals around. Somehow, even good deeds these days are questioned.

I read the news about ritualists taking advantage of the Abuja carnivals, posing as beggars to steal body parts of individuals. Yes, you heard right! When someone took pity on one of the beggars and gave out some money, a part of the body or even sight disappears with it.

When I first came to Lagos, I was in the habit of trying in my little way to help out beggars I saw on the streets. One day I began to think to myself; these beggars are not reducing at all, instead they are on the increase. I still gave when my spirit told me to but one day, a lady whom I usually dressed my hair at her salon told me that some of these beggars are actually sent by rich men to collect people’s cash and then use it for ritual purposes. She told me she never gives money to beggars.

Also, gone are the days you see someone in pains on the road and stop to help. Now, criminals use that gimmick and even smarter ones to rob unsuspecting persons of their valuables and in some cases lives. This begs the question, what is this world really turning into? A world where you ache to give help but are afraid it is a set-up. One where you do good and the act is questioned.

If you are in Lagos, I am sure you would have seen those people who always beg for N100 to take them to one location or the other. Most of the time, they are very well dressed individuals and you believe they must have lost their wallets or something and then grant them help only to see them there again the next day. This is a norm in many parts of Lagos and people are no longer buying it.

But a young man went to the bank one day to clear a cheque. He had only the money he used to get there hoping that after clearing the cheque, he would use part of the money to transport himself back home; but fate played a cruel one on him. The cheque bounced and he was left with a worthless piece of paper and no dime to go home. He said he begged people on the streets for money but they all ignored him. You see, this is someone in need of genuine help but because lots of liars are parading using that trick to extort money, he was looked at as one of them. He ended up trekking from Oshodi to Isolo where he lived with a vow that he would never help people who were stranded since he didn’t get any help.

Did you also see the story about the New York policeman who gave a new set of boots and stockings to a freezing old homeless man?

That picture garnered numerous likes, shares and comments on Face book. Many people were touched by the act of kindness but like the world we live in, skeptics were very much present oozing their disgust at the act. Many believed it was staged for popularity purposes.

This kind of thought lets you understand how far we have come as humans when something as simple as this act of kindness by a man to his fellow man is being questioned. When celebrities donate money to cancer victims or victims of natural disaster, majority think it is all a publicity stunt; which it may well be. But is there really anything wrong in someone taking compassion on the plight of another and extending a helping hand?

If today, we are in need and a Good Samaritan suddenly appears bearing even more than we expect, we get suspicious.

It’s scary that we live this way. No good deed is certified good nowadays because the devil has crept in with his deceptive and manipulative ways to instill corrupt wisdom and practices into the minds of men. He makes evil people smart enough to masquerade evil as good.

It’s Friday and the last day of November and I find myself ranting this way! Oh Lord… 

Anyways, it’s goodbye to November as we move to December and indeed to the end of 2012. 

Every day, I look forward to a better world where good can be really seen as good but so long as the devil does not sleep but fights on with newer and more revised gimmicks, we better be on the watch too so we are not caught off-guard.

Enjoy the weekend people!