Funmi continued to cry and sob and she was
on floor, she refused to be consoled, “how can I face our world, have I
preached and lived a phony life? Chucks
please kill me, I am better off dead, I can not face the consequence of this,
the shame and ridicule will be too much for my heart to bear. Oh! Chucks, what
have I done to deserve this?” “Lord!” She continued, Chucks lifted her up and
told her to wipe her face and that he would talk to her about this tomorrow but
he needed to go back to bed as he had an early meeting in the morning. “Ah!,
she exclaimed, Lord, help me, my life is turning upside down so rapidly”.
Chucks looked at the clock on the wall in their study, the time was 0530am. “Funmi,
seriously, I need to get some sleep before I set out, see you later” he sauntered
out of the study room. Funmi sat up with
her back against the wall on the floor of the study room; like a little girl
who had been reprimanded, her head was throbbing from all the crying but her
mind was racing as if it was going to explode.
Funmi laid on the floor of the study room and
started praying, “mercy Oh Lord, have mercy on us, if you are to mark iniquity,
who will stand? we have sinned and fallen short of your glory”. She kept on
interceding on behalf of her husband and herself. By the time she finished it
was 0830 and she knew she had to get ready for work even though she was already
late. She got to work and told her secretary to clear her calendar as she had
an emergency to attend to. She called
Tumi from her office and told her she needed to talk. Tumi left her office and
went over to Funmi’s, she hurriedly went over the events of the previous night
but they could not talk for long because of the office environment. Tumi opted
to spend the rest of the day with Funmi as they planned the next line of
action. The time was 2:30pm and Funmi was lying on the sofa in the sitting
room, Tumi had gone into the kitchen to fix a light meal for them,she wanted to
be sure Funmi was doing well before leaving her to go to her own home. It has
been a very long, hectic but productive day. They can only hope that it will
not back fire to hurt both of them.
The door bell rang and Funmi got up to
answer it. She was surprised to see the cops (Police officers) in mufti in from
of her house, “what can I do for you officer” she asked.” Yes, we are from the
Provincial Anti Pornography Task Force and we have a search warrant for this
house”. He motioned to the other Policemen standing with Chucks. Funmi
stretched her neck to see Chucks standing with two other cops. Chucks was mute
and looked like he had seen a ghost. The Police officer said they were carrying
out a raid at the cyber cafe because they had been tipped off about illegal
soliciting of sex online at that cafe. Chucks happened to be using a computer
at the cafe at the time, the history of the computer showed that pornographic
materials had been downloaded. The clerk had maintained that Chucks only comes
there for business purposes as he comes there with documents and a USB drive
every other day. It did not matter what was asked Chucks had not been able to
respond to any of the accusations so there is a search warrant to check his
home for any material that may suggest his involvement in possession or
distribution of pornographic materials especially involving under aged
children.
“Please feel free to come in” Funmi said.
Chucks was terrified, he was sure that he was going to lose everything, he
remembered the images Funmi had seen the previous night and the conversation
box that made her scream. Was she trying to get back at him? Did she have the
slightest idea of what the consequence of his arrest will mean to their family
and church? His feet were as heavy as lead as he walked into his own house.
“Where do you have your computer madam” the Police officer asked. “Officer, we
have no computer at this time” and she opened the door to the study room. The
Policeman asked her what she does and she mentioned her company name. The Policeman looked around the house and did not find anything. Since the
downloaded material at the cafe could have been anyone’s since it was a public
computer and the clerk provided a great alibi, they allowed Chucks to go free.
Funmi stood at the door leading to the
house and waved bye to the clerk and Police officer. She locked the door and appreciated God for
His mercy that prevailed. She went inside and found Chucks on his face in the
sitting room. He was weeping and pleading for God’s mercy. Funmi, please forgive me, please, I know I
have offended you. Funmi smiled, seeing that God took care of the situation and
she did not need to preach any sermon. Chucks was broken,he was so close to
loosing his name and career... Tumi came
in from the kitchen although she heard
what was going on but she did not want to say anything in order to give them some privacy. How Funmi
could have known to throw away the computer? He did not have to argue for too
long, he knew he needed help, he also knew the first step was to get rid of the
link and source of his addiction. Funmi called Tumi and appreciated her for her
godly counsel, had Tumi not come home with her to get rid of the computer, the
story would have been different.
Tumi had told Funmi the first step to break
Chucks addiction was to severe his link with the source. They had both
anticipated that all hell was going to break lose when Chucks finds out the
computer had been thrown out. Chucks could not say much for the rest of the night;
he just kept crying and praying for God’s forgiveness. He was long lost in his indulgence and there
was no stopping him as he had resources to fund and fuel his lust. He knew he
had to take a bold step and start doing something about it. What mercy he had
received! He asked that his wife join him as they rebuild the prayer altar in
their home. Chucks apologized to his wife, he needed to be accountable to
God...
Chucks approached his Pastor and told him
about the need to educate men about the evil of PORNOGRAPHY. He narrated how he was in captivity and it
was almost broke his home. He had purposely gone into captivity without an
invisible chain, he had progressed towards hell and “he could not sing the Lord
song anymore”. Everytime he went online, he had to hide his identity and his
conscience had become seared, he thought he needed something more to feel good
about himself, he experienced MID LIFE CRISIS as he was afraid that he was no
longer appealing since his wife was the only woman in his life, he needed to
regain his prowess, be in control and he
needed to do something that would keep him feeling so good. He chose the wrong
thing but for God! He told the Pastor how he planned to intimidate his wife
after her discovery of his secret but God outwitted him by the cybercafé
episode.
Chucks became accountable to his Pastor and
God, they worked on a seminar to teach men about the danger of pornography and
its negative effect on your home and walk with God. Tumi and Funmi spoke to
women about how to handle men who are battling addiction to pornography. The
devil meant it for evil but with conscious effort and lots of prayers, they
were able to sing the Lord’s song to shame the enemy...By the Rivers of
Babylon...
Pornography is our present day cancer, it
doesn’t stop at looking or peeking, you always want more and it sucks you in to
its endless craving for more and then you would want to experience it going
beyond ordinary viewing or talking. If you are battling this canker worm, please
seek help, do not feel ashamed because it thrives on secrecy and it holds you
in long, strong chains forever. Prayer is able to break the hold of sin upon
your life only if you are willing, you also have to be accountable to someone,
it may seem embarrassing given your position or title but you are better off
embarrassing yourself by choice than allowing the devil to ridicule you and ask
you to “sing Zion song” in a strange
land.
I welcome your comments...
Please feel free to drop a line: possibilitiesdivine@gmail.com
Blessings!
Thank you ma for sharing. God bless you.
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