Everyone Receives

        I’m aware of so many cases with this moral. Stick with me as I share one of the simple ones. This time, the choice happened with more thinking. All I could do was help one of them with the resource I had, and the decision to help Mr A, not B, wasn’t so easy. Some months earlier, I was in a similar situation of having to choose to help one of two persons with a resource capable of just helping one. I’ll refer to the persons in the latter situation as Ms X and Ms Y (they weren’t both females though; neither were the former both males). That time, the choice was easy. All I did was let Ms X have it because she reached out to me first. As for Ms Y, it wasn’t long before she got the help she needed. The difference in both instances: The ways I had been treated by the persons involved. In one word, I’ll describe how I had been treated by Mr A, Ms X, and Ms Y as ‘well’. By ‘well’, I mean nicely, with love, or just respect.

        Mr B, on the other hand, had a throne when it comes to treating people with unneeded disrespect in words, and actions sometimes. But then Mr B, just as we all do every now and then, needed help. He did reach out to me for help; it was about the time Mr A reached out for help too. Again, the resource was enough for just one, and Mr A happened to reach out first. Now I know what you may be thinking: I just described Mr B as being ‘not too nice’; he may have given me an attitude before, and Mr A asked for help first (all of which are right), so why was choosing Mr A not easy? The answer: I felt it may be a bit difficult for Mr B to get the help he needed at the right time.

        You see, comparing both persons and deciding to help Mr A irrespective of who reached out first was there, someplace in my head. The thoughts were: ‘Perhaps I should go for Mr B; no one I know may want to help’, and then ‘No, you shouldn’t be thinking this way. Just go for Mr A; he asked first’. I went back and forth with the thoughts, but Mr A it was in the end. After all, he did truly reach out first. Expectedly, Mr B found it hard to get help (at least, with those I knew). Turned out he had a ‘not Mr nice guy’ reputation a little bit more than I thought. From what I could reason out, he had treated everyone I felt could help in ways other than good, and they either directly or tactfully echoed the words: ‘Do not feel like helping’. I hope he has realized kings of that realm are rarely, perhaps never, liked!    

        When it comes to not lacking, givers truly never experience shortage. They are either having God and/or men give back to them the good, or otherwise, they give/gave. It may be a smile/frown, kind thoughts, words and actions/hurtful ones, blessing/curse, truths/lies, etc, the truth is everybody gives and everybody receives. A friend, of the same faith, once discussed being mindful of what we give, and I remember him ending with the statement: ‘Even the dead (those who give no more) will still receive life or damnation based on what they gave’.