By Paul Yeenie Harry
I saw a man. He was sitting at the bank of a river. He threw a few nuts into the river and relished the ripples they created. He took an orange beside him and began to suck it.
He threw the peel into the river and watched as the current transported them downstream. He picked up a two-foot-long sugar cane on his right and began to chew it.
As he chewed, a few greedy and annoying flies came around to share the sugar cane juice with him, which he was unwilling to do. So, he continuously swatted the flies with the same sugar cane, with the flies dodging his blows here and there. It was not too long when the soliloquy started.
“I know that almost everybody wants to be rich. They want to enjoy life to its maximum, but they don’t consider all the problems that go with being rich. For me, it’s better to be poor than to be rich. And there are many reasons why I hold this opinion; however, I’ll give only seven,” started the man. A bird sang nearby and flew away.
“First of all,” the man continued, “when you are poor, people don’t generally think about asking you for things. For example, no one asks you for money, clothes, food and so on. This is great because it frees you from a lot of headache. Yes, it’s better to be poor.
“The second reason why it is wonderful to be poor than to be rich is that robbers or criminals don’t usually have time for you. They already know that you are a church mouse. They don’t even think about you. In fact, they might want to help you than rob you.
I remember once a poor man had his makeshift structure in which he slept next to a rich man’s house, which was surrounded with a huge fence. One night, armed robbers passed the poor man’s house and entered the rich man’s mansion, unleashing terror on him and his family, taking away money, clothes, and other valuable items.
But guess what? As the robbers escaped that night, once again passing the poor man’s house, one of them threw a few pieces of clothing to his door and remarked, ‘You poor man, these are some clothes to help you.’ You see, even criminals help the poor.
“Thirdly, when you are poor, people generally feel sorry for you and are willing to help you. For example, there are churches, mosques and other humanitarian organizations that help poor people. They help with clothes, food, cooking utensils and, sometimes, with money. To benefit from these things you have to be poor, which is a great blessing. Isn’t it great to be poor, my people?
“Fourth, if you are a poor person, no one complains against you or gossips about you if you don’t make any effort to help others or contribute to projects. For example, if the leadership of your community asks all the residents to contribute towards the construction
of a well, a community toilet, a bridge, or something of that nature, no one will fuss with you if you don’t give. Even in the church, if you don’t give offering every Sunday, the pastor will not preach against you and will not blame you. In fact, he will encourage the church to help you. Isn’t this wonderful? It’s better to be poor.
“Fifth, when you are poor, you can make begging your hobby, which is a rewarding hobby. You may beg from street to street, from house to house or from relative to relative.
I know a lot of street beggars who make good money daily. There’s no boss to assign them duties they don’t want to perform, or stress their lives with worries created by fighting to meet deadlines. What is even more important is that when a poor person begs in the street, people hardly look at him negatively. The situation would be different for a rich person. I prefer to be poor.
“Sixth, when you are poor, you help to fulfill Jesus’ prophetic message as recorded in John 12:8, which says that the poor will always be around. The poor person’s presence and condition help to make this message a reality. Jesus will look at the poor person and remember his statement with pride. Please be poor so that Jesus’ words can always be true.
“Finally, a poor person stands a greater chance of entering into the Kingdom of Heaven than does a rich person. Jesus says in John 18:22-25 that it is almost impossible for the rich, not the poor, to enter into heaven. Who would hear this and not want to be poor? It’s great to be poor than to be rich. It’s great. I say, it’s great!”
At the end of his last statement, a mosquito unwelcomingly whispered in my left ear.
It was at that point that I jumped from sleep and realized that it was a dream, and it was one of my late paternal uncles who had spoken those words. I got up, washed my face, ate a piece of roasted cassava and coconut and went with my father to our cassava farm.
By the way, poor people, I hope you don’t get so excited about this dream that you begin to tease the rich. Take it easy with rich people. Okay? I say this because the rich people’s dream could appear in another article next week.
Anyway, my people, da how I see it-o!
