Journeying through life has made me encounter different kinds of humans. The good, bad, generous, selfish, greedy, and many others have played a significant journey in my life.
I am not perfect either, I have my setbacks or should I say bad habits that I might not even know about but being the kind of person that I am, I love it when people tell me what I am doing wrong so that I can adjust. Among the biggest mistake a man can make is not taking correction, any human who refuses to take correction will end up making terrible mistakes and wrong choices in life.
Not everything they say about you will be correct though and you have to take your time to evaluate yourself to see if that thing they are saying about you is right or wrong.
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Being selfish is a terrible thing, I don't know how to cope with having something someone needs that I am not using or have enough for two and won't help out. About two days ago, I told my brother I need to start pretending not to see a lot of things because of the stress it brings to me in the end.
I find it hard to see someone in a situation where I can be of assistance and not do anything. This isn't about giving money, there are several ways to support people.
As terrible as being selfish can be, I think the consequences are still very far from being greedy. Greed has led people into terrible situations they never expected to find themselves and they just have to live with the consequences for the rest of their life.
I mentioned earlier that my journey through life has made me see the different sides of humans and I have picked one or two lessons from them.
There used to be a guy in the neighborhood who was into house construction. He is older but we were friends, not that close relationship kind of friendship but we refer to one another as friends.
He does construction and painting jobs which help him earn lots of money back then. He learned the job from his father but he works more because he is young and still has the strength.
My life was messy at some point and I reached out to him for support but he turned me down. He offered to invite me for work which was very considerate of him.
He did and I was happy to go. That day, I pushed building blocks in a wheelbarrow for about two hours. I carried cement in a pan and I didn't believe I could do all that but the need to survive left me no choice.
At the end of the day, I was paid 1,200 naira which is about $1.5 and I spent almost everything on drugs.
I was complaining about the stress to the younger brother of this guy and he only laughed at me. We did more jobs and I couldn't save anything because the money wasn't enough to feed and take drugs.
I told the guy to help add a little change to my money so that it will be enough but he refused. He was in charge and he could do that if he wanted to. His younger brother also worked with us, he told me not to bother myself because his brother won't add a dime.
The younger brother told me how he begged him to make his daily wage at least $2 but he wouldn't listen.
I stopped bothering him about the increase and just managed what I got.
After some time, he got a painting job and it was massive.
He was good with paint production so after he got the job, we started producing the paint that was needed.
He wasn't very good with writing and I usually help him so I know what he got from that job.
He made double the workmanship fee from producing the paint and I was expecting huge pay for the job. The job was to last three days and I wasn't expecting anything less than $14 at the end of the job.
It was so bad of this guy that he would buy himself good food while we eat bread and soft drink just to save our money. The job finished and it was time for pay.
This guy handed me and his brother $4 each, he had deducted transportation and the money we borrowed for feeding. I reminded him that he has made almost $180 from the job so why paying us such an amount and he turned the simple question into a quarrel.
His brother almost fought him that day and I couldn't tell why someone could be so cruel to even his sibling.
That day, I vowed never to work with him again. This guy doesn't look like someone who is working and while discussing with his brother, I asked if his selfish brother was building a house already and he said, no.
He made me understand that he spends money on girls and gambling. I wasn't surprised because when you don't do the right thing with money, you will do the wrong thing.
With a good heart, I approached this guy and told him the consequences of the things he was doing but it didn't end well so we parted ways.
After I rented my first apartment, I got a call from this guy. He wanted to do some cloth business in the city where I live, and he wants to stay with me for some time.
That's not a problem but I made him realize that we are going to split every bill. He ended up not showing up because he didn't want to pay anything.
His younger brother is a graduate today but this guy I call my friend still lives with his parents.
Everyone, he ought to have helped but didn't also turn him down when he needed their help.
Many times, I always wondered what life would have looked like for him if he didn't allow greed and selfishness to destroy him. The girls he was spending on are nowhere to be found and he never made anything from gambling.
My experience with him taught me not to be greedy or stingy because nothing is fixed in life. The person you turn down today might be your ladder to the top later in life.
I do not hate him but he wouldn't realize his mistakes if everyone who turned him down didn't do so. I haven't heard from him in a while and I hope he's okay.
Everything a man possesses is for a reason and when we fail to use the resources well, God blesses another person to do what he or she has failed to do. Being greedy or selfish is an act we must desist from as humans because there is no gain in it.
It is true that whatever we sow in life, we shall reap. Greed and selfishness will give only bear us rotten fruits, something of no value.
