The Slingshot

The husband was the one who brought 
the case 
He said he was suspecting his wife of 
cheating on him with a pastor
He said it wasn't the first time 
He said his wife had cheated on him 
several times even before they got 
married but he always forgave her 
He said the trend continued even 
after they had gotten married 
The husband said he had made up
his mind to divorce the wife 
Enough was enough 
But his wife was six months pregnant 
and he was sure the child was his 
So he approached his wife's father 
and told him what was going on 
He said his wife's father and the pastor 
were from the same village and his wife's 
father called him the following day saying 
"If you divorce her, you forfeit your baby" 
They had been trying to have a child for 
five years and they had spent a lot of 
money trying out many procedures to 
have a baby 
He said he couldn't forfeit his child 
His wife's father told him the pastor 
said he would fly his wife abroad 
and adopt the baby as his own 
should he proceed with his divorce 
threat 
At this point, he began to sob 
I waited for a little while, unsure if 
stopping him from crying or leaving 
him to cry would be the best for him 
Dealing with a cheating spouse is a 
tough ordeal 
Dealing with a cheating spouse whose 
cheating partner was a powerful and 
influential man or woman was a nightmare 
You could lose more than your wife and child 
You could find yourself in big trouble 
You could lose your life!
Uriah didn't know that the same hole he 
entered joyfully and legally as a husband 
would end up being the trap door that 
would lead to his death 
When a powerful man is interested in your 
wife, your right and voice could be trampled 
and stifled at will 
And if God does not fight for you 
You may never get justice 
I waited for about ten minutes 
He gathered himself 
He was a strong man 
He apologized for breaking down 
So I asked him how he met his wife 
and why he willingly married a cheat 
He nodded and shook his head at 
the same time 
It had been a tough day for him 
He said he was serving as an apprentice 
at a very popular market in the East 
when he met his wife 
He said his wife was a secondary school 
student at the time 
He asked her out around the Christmas 
season 
She agreed to date him after the new year 
He said from that point he took over her 
academic training 
He said such practice is common in the 
part of the country where they both hail 
from 
He said she was in 200 Level in the 
University when she cheated on his for 
the first time 
He went to check up on her school one 
weekend and discovered that she
was not living in the female hostel he 
paid for 
When he got there, they told him she 
had moved out 
Eventually, someone told him she was 
living with a guy off campus 
He stayed in a hotel that night 
The next morning, just as he was about 
to set out for the address he was given, 
she arrived at the hotel 
She told him some of her friends told 
her he lodged in the hotel 
He asked her why she moved out of the 
female hostel 
She said she couldn't get a bed space by 
the time he sent her money for rent 
She said she rented a room off campus 
He said she should take him to her room 
She said she had roommates and none 
of them brought their boyfriends to 
the room as a policy 
He said for every argument he pushed 
to know where she was staying, 
she had a counter-argument 
Eventually, he gave up on the issue 
He took her to his room in the hotel 
and gave her the things he bought 
for her 
Later that evening, she left 
He told her he would leave first thing in 
the morning 
He waited until it was 9pm 
He left the hotel and traced the address 
he was given 
He got there around ten pm 
He met them, his babe and her campus 
lover, making love
His babe had simply pocketed the money 
he sent her to rent a room and moved 
in with her campus boyfriend 
He was the one trespassing as it were 
He said he knocked on the door and 
ensured his babe and her lover were
 aware that he knew what was going on 
After that he walked away
To him, three years of investment had 
gone down the drain 
When he got home he told his parents 
what he happened 
His mother told him to be matured 
about it 
He was 28 and she was 19 
"19-year-olds make mistakes all the time 
She will soon arrive here in tears, begging" 
said his mother
True to his mother's words, she arrived at 
his house the following weekend 
She was in tears 
She said it was the devil 
She had no other sponsor 
She was saving the money he gave her 
so that she wouldn't be asking him for 
money all the time 
She showed him her bank account's 
balance
She had all the money saved 
She said she was not thinking clearly 
She begged him until he was embarrassed 
He forgave her and instructed her to get 
her own apartment and never to see the 
campus lover again 
She obeyed 
He went to see her often and nothing was 
out of place until she went for her NYSC 
He noticed that during the NYSC she 
played a lot of hide and seek game 
He saw messages and emails that indicated 
that she was sleeping with someone else 
He had convinced himself she was never 
coming to him when she suddenly showed 
up with her bags after the NYSC
He later discovered that the guy she was
 seeing also had a girlfriend at home and 
somehow the NYSC fling didn't blossom 
into a real relationship 
He called her and had a heart to heart talk 
with her 
He told her he was willing to consider his 
investment in her as a gift to her and
her family 
He didn't want her to see him as someone 
to rebel against 
The pattern he had observed was not 
something he wanted to build his future 
around 
He said she begged him and promised 
him she was ready to settle down and 
be his wife 
He said he did everything to test her love
and he found it to be very firm 
They went ahead and got married 
After the wedding, he discovered a lot of things 
He discovered she had treated Sexually 
transmitted infection before 
He also discovered she had gone through 
two abortions while she was in school 
He stood by her in all the challenges they 
faced 
When their marriage was two years, she 
cheated on him with one of her colleagues 
at work 
He found out through one of their neighbors 
who took pictures of his wife and the guy 
having sex on their matrimonial bed 
while he was out of town 
He sent her packing 
Her family members and his got involved 
in the matter 
The story became clumsy 
His wife claimed the picture was 
photoshopped because his neighbour 
wanted to sleep with her and she 
rejected his overtures 
It turned out there was some truth
in his wife's allegation against the
neighbour
At the end of the day, he moved away 
from that house and they reconciled
He said she did it again when their 
marriage was four 
She went one business trip with one of 
her bosses and somehow ended up 
sleeping with that one during the trip 
It became messy as his wife's boss's 
wife found out and reported at the office 
His wife and her boss had to face a
disciplinary panel 
They both lost their job and the affair 
became an open secret 
He said he had given up on the marriage 
by that time 
He moved into another room and vowed 
never to touch her again 
She pleaded with him to let her stay in 
the house until she got another job 
He agreed!
He said they were practically living 
together under the same room
as strangers until one night in May 2018
He got home from work around 7pm
and found her sleeping stark naked
on the three-seater sofa in the sitting 
room
He said he hadn't had sex in months
and the sight of her nakedness stirred
deep longings
He showered and went to his room but
the sight had provoked him to the
core
He went to her that night
They mended their ways afterward
and decided to give their marriage
another try
One month later, she was confirmed
to be pregnant
They didn't tell anybody about it
When she was five months pregnant
and was already showing she went
home to visit her parent
Her parent said their pastor came to
their house earlier that month to
pray and told them a sudden miracle
will come into their home to visit
them, when it comes, they should
make sure they bring the miracle
to him
That was how she followed her parents
to their church to see the pastor
Two weeks later, she had started
sleeping with the pastor 
He said he noticed that she suddenly
started acting suspiciously as she
did the previous times
He had come to know the signs
and pretended he didn't see anything
until he traced her to the hotel where
she was meeting the pastor one
evening
He had come to realize being married
to her was a lost cause but he didn't
want his baby growing up with her
Whether the child was male or female
he didn't feel the child ought to be
brought up by someone like her
He wanted his baby
He also wanted justice
A pastor ought to be a blessing to
his home, not a fox
He wanted God to fight for him
I listened to his story carefully
Two days later, i met him and his
wife
Her story wasn't any different
She was sorry for sleeping with
the pastor
She said it felt as if she was 
hypnotized
We prayed together
I was careful not to ask for anything
that could be constituted as curses
or negative 
I have never walked contrary to the
instruction of Jesus that a believer
must bless always and not curse
About a week after i met with them
I was reading a book by Francine
Rivers titled "Sons of Encouragement"
The author wrote about prophet Amos
among her characters
She spoke about the sling and it's
importance in the tool kit of a shepherd
especially in dealing with wolves, snakes,
lions, bears and administering discipline
among the sheep themselves
Suddenly the eye of my understanding
was enlightened
I knew what to do
Two weeks later, the pastor climbed his
last horse
The church member he was sleeping
with at a hotel (A member of the
choir) narrated the story in her
statement to the police
They were having sex when the pastor
suddenly stiffened and went limp
By the time they got help and rushed
him to the hospital, he had lost the
use of the left side of his body
completely
He was 49 years old when it happened
He was married with three children
His church scattered after the incidence
(This event happened around 
Satellite town - Amukoko area of Lagos)
The lady delivered a baby boy a few 
months later
Her husband decided to forgive her
and give the marriage another go
She is pregnant with her second 
baby at the moment

PS: Many believers think they can
live irresponsibly under grace
This is very far from the truth
There is a provision for justice and
discipline within the Messianic
Community
I have seen it's effectiveness
as enforced by the Holy Spirit
several times
Let us be careful not to abuse
or frustrate the grace of God
upon our lives 

GSW's notes: I was recently told
of a pastor who has a crowd of
worshippers all around him calling
him papa
I was also told this papa liked to
sleep with other people's wives!
I was told he was sleeping with
a particular married woman who
was pregnant
The husband has told me a story
that made my ears tingle
Just so that we can prove the
consistency of the Word of God
I will say this: I have seen the
green tree cut into two equal
halves vertically
The branches of one were broken
to pieces and thrown into the fire
The other dried up on the spot with
it's branches and fruits still on it
The head of the Church has decided
your case sir
That which was abused has been
reassigned!
I write this as a witness to this
verdict today 10/07/2020