By Sunmola Olowookere

|

“Among my people are the wicked. . .” says the holy book. A pastor is facing a lot of scandal in our neighbourhood as the rumours has it that he planted charm on the land of his church in order to draw crowd to the church.
Though it was a trying time for the pastor and his wife. However, they both summoned courage and began to visit friends and other church members who had shied away following the scandal.
When they visit people, most of their hosts would not allow them in claiming that there was heat in the house. No one trusts them again. “Who knows they may have charms in their pockets”. They would claim. Once bitten, twice shy. But residents of our neighbourhood did not want to be bitten at all.
Behind the scandal that erupted, the fine hand of a much younger Pastor who is an upstart in the’ community has been discovered.
It was now revealed that the upstart that had just begun his ministry in the neighbourhood had played smart between the elderly pastor and his landlady.
Only God knew how the woman chose to take his words over that of her known t e n a n t . H e turned their heads like a violinist would tune his violin. And th e y h a d fallen prey to his wiles.
H e w a s the little bird that had whispered into the ears of the land lady that there was a spot in the front of pastor’s church that looked suspicious as if something was buried there.
The young man had frightened the woman with several scenarios of devilish pastors that had done away with generous and selfless benefactors who gave them space to build their churches. And unfortunately, it is a known fact that once you gave space to some churches, it is tantamount to kissing your Iand goodbye’.
Their sole prayer and desire would be that the land fall into their grasp. The less scrupulous ones would apply whatever means necessary to achieve their aims. The owner of the land could die for all they care, That was one of the arguments that the young pastor used which swayed the elderly woman. By the time the man finished his spiel, the woman could feel her plot slipping from her hands.
She grew alarmed as she wondered where she would start from. When the woman was sufficiently frightened, he now gave her ‘blessed water to neutralize the evil charm that had been planted on her land. The woman now began to see him as a sort of saviour.
Following the success of his plans, he had grown complacent in his wisdom and he boasted about it to some residents that he was the one who discovered the spot
Unknown t o h i m, w ith the plot he concocted, he had dug a grave for his own downfall . Since then, his ministry began a downward spiral and tried as he could; it was a lost fight from the beginning. Everything seemed dead set against him.
Everyone later realized that it was an evil plot to oust the elderly pastor. Though the pastor never talked but it was more lethal for the young pastor who is now nowhere to be found.
It brings to mind the parable of the hawk that sent its children out to hunt; they came back with a duckling. The mother hawk now asked them what the duck said when its kid was taken and they said “nothing”. The wise hawk told them to return the duckling. On the next hunt, they came back with a chick. When the hawk asked about the reaction of the mother hen and it was told how the chicken ranted and cursed, he happily asked them to enjoy their spoil.
The development has got residents thinking, silence is not only golden, it could also be dangerous.