People always talk about karma. karma simply means that whatever you do will, in one way or another, find its way back to you whether good or bad.
I believe in doing good, being kind, and helping people, even in the smallest ways I can. Sometimes, helping someone could simply mean giving them a listening ear. I don't do these things only because I expect a reward. I genuinely feel happy when I am able to help someone. Growing up as a Christian, I believe that is what God teaches us, to love others.
However, people sometimes refuse to help when there is no reward attached to it. And honestly, it is not always our fault. Some people take advantage of kindness, and choosing not to help someone does not automatically make us bad people.
I remember something that happened when I was still in junior secondary school. I attended an all-girls boarding school. One evening, we were informed that we would be having our opening Mass the following day and that we should come prepared with our offertory money.
After the day's activities, we returned to the hostel. I checked through my belongings to see how much money I had, and I realised I had only ₦200 left and that was my last card.
I remembered the things I had heard about giving to God, that when you give to Him, He will give you something bigger in return. So, I made up my mind to sacrifice my last ₦200.
The next day, during the offertory, I marched forward, dropped the money into the offertory box, and returned to my seat. Then I waited. Somewhere in my mind, I was expecting God's blessing to appear almost immediately because I had just given Him my last money. But nothing happened. In fact, for the next week, I became even more broke. At some point, I almost regretted giving away my money. I kept thinking about what I could have bought with that ₦200. Back then, doughnuts were ₦50 each, which meant I could have bought four. Still, whenever I remembered that I had given the money to God, I tried to calm myself.
Then one day, I was learning in my classroom when my caretaker, who was also a teacher in the school, asked me to see her after my lessons. After class, I went to meet her, wondering what she wanted to tell me. When I got there, she told me, "Your dad came." Ohh!! My joy was beyond this world.
My father don't normally visit me because my school did not allow parents to visit wards outside the designated visiting days. So, hearing that he had come was already a pleasant surprise. Then she handed me ₦3,000 that my dad had brought as pocket money. He had also brought beverages and some homemade meals from home. I was overjoyed.
Immediately, I remembered my ₦200 offering. Said in my mind "O God, You really did this one!" I felt like I had finally received my reward.
But later, when I settled down and reflected on what had happened, I asked myself a deeper question: Did I really give that ₦200 to God because I wanted to give, or did I give it because I expected Him to give me something bigger in return? I realised that, deep down, I was still expecting something. That experience made me know that sometimes, we may genuinely want to do good, but a small part of us still hopes that life will reward us for it in one way or the other. Maybe that is human nature.
But at times I don't want my willingness to help people to depend entirely on what I will receive in return. Sometimes, people will appreciate us. Sometimes, they will forget. Sometimes, they may even take advantage of our kindness. Sometimes, nothing will happen at all.
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