“Why do you allow Justine to always humiliate you? It is not good for your fellow man to be embarrassing you in public. You have to do something about it.”

That was the praise team treasurer, Vera. She came to pay me a visit at home. Her visiting alone was strange because our female members always walk in pairs and groups. I had no choice than to welcome her. Immediately, she started talking about Justine.

“As I was saying, you have to challenge Justine. If you challenge him in public, his ego will be deflated and next time, he will respect himself. Whatever it will take, be it confrontation or fight, just give it to him.”

“Are you encouraging me to fight Justine?”

“If that will settle the issue, why not? Justine has provoked you to a justifiable anger so he needs to pay for it. After all the bible says we should fight the good fight of faith.”

“So, engaging in physical combat with my brother in Christ is what you understand by ‘good fight of faith’? Justine is not my enemy. The book of 1 Peter 5:8 states it clearly that the only adversary I have is the devil. He is the one manipulating Justine against me. I have resolved to love and pray for Justine. I believe that soonest, God will open his eyes for him to stop giving me stress. If only he knows the consequences of his action, he will not do what he is doing. Initially, I was angry with him. But when the Holy Spirit gave me better understanding, I started praying for him.”

“Bro Kings, you are talking this way because you are not aware of what Justine has been saying about you. Just yesterday, he told me that you…”

I didn’t allow him to conclude what she was saying.

“Please stop. Anyone coming to tell me what Justine said about me is the one causing me pain. Whatever he wants me to hear, he would say it to my hearing. Anything he said in my absence is not meant for my ears. We all are talking about Justine as if he is the only bad boy in church. The truth is most of us have our peculiar challenges. The issue with Justine is that he allowed Satan to sow the seed of pride in him. He is now seeing himself as better than other persons. If you and I examine our lives, there may still be some evil seeds we are nurturing. The major problem of most Christians today is that we have relegated the Holy Spirit to the background. We speak in tongues but when we are watched closely, the fruit is not there. We are like tress that blossom but do not bear fruit. Read the book of Galatians 5:22-23, it lists the fruits of the Holy Spirit. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit directs us on what to do. Whenever we do things that are contrary to the will of God, the Holy Spirit will not allow us to rest until we make amend.”

“Are you suggesting that Justine is not filled with the Holy Spirit? He raises his hand whenever Pastor asks of those baptized in the Holy Spirit.”

“Justine might have experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but it ought not to end there. The baptism of the Holy Spirit should be an everyday occurrence for a believer. Philippians 2:12 Urge us to work out our salvation. Then Romans 12:2 says that our minds need to be renewed, that we may be able to prove what is good, acceptable and perfect will of God. But Titus 3:5 expands it by revealing that the Holy Ghost is the one that does the renewing.”

We talked for a long while. By the time I checked, it was already 8:00PM but Vera was not showing any signs of leaving. When I tried to remind her that it is getting late, she told me that she can’t go home because she lost her keys.

“What…! You lost your keys and you have been chatting all these while. You should have told me so, we could proffer solution. Anyway, you have to go to the house of any of our female members; I know that they will accommodate you tonight.”

“No ooooo”, she protested. “I don’t want their gossips. Please let me stay here till morning. Then, I will sort myself out.”

“You want to stay in my house till morning? That cannot be possible please get up and go,” I pleaded desperately.

“Bro Kings, why are you behaving like this? Do you want to chase me out of your house by this time? Alright, if it is because of where I will sleep, the floor is okay for me. I will spread my wrapper on the floor.”

When she mentioned wrapper, I thought that she was joking. I decided to ask her if she truly came with a wrapper.

“Yes, it is in my handbag,” She brought out the wrapper and showed me. At that point, I knew that I was in serious trouble. I started praying silently asking God for wisdom on how to handle the situation. Suddenly, an idea dropped.

“Why are you packing your pyjamas inside a bag? Are you going out?” Vera asked.

“Yes, I want to go to the parsonage. I’m sure that Pastor will accommodate me for the night.”

“Why is it that of all the places, it is the parsonage you want to go to? Will Pastor not ask you why you left your house?” Vera asked in anger.

“I will give him a simple and straight answer. You lost your keys. There is no other place for you to stay apart from my house. Two of us cannot sleep on the same bed and I don’t want you to lie on the floor.”

Bro Kings this is not fair and you know it. Why will you involve Pastor in this matter? That I chose to come to your house does not mean that I’m a fool or I’m stupid. Anyway, I have to take my leave since I am not welcomed.”