Ijeamaka Nnite concludes her write-up today:

“Where is your daughter’s suitor from?”

“You mean Kelechi?”

“The name sounds,Imo.”

“No, he is from Abia.”

“Where in Abia?”

“Isuikwuato.”

“Isi gini? [What do you say?] Isuikwuato? Dammit.”

“Why did you say that?”

“Do you remember Ifeoma?”

“Ifeoma, you mean Okoro’s daughter, who died this year?”

“Yes, what about her?”

“Her suitor is from Isuikwuato. The man came with his people and paid the bride price in a big way. Lots of people, relations and friends, were there. The date of the traditional marriage had even been fixed. On that day, the man was not seen. His phone, those of his parents’ and relatives’ were all switched off. From morning till night, they did not show up. The crowd shook their heads and dispersed. Ifeoma fainted and was rushed to Dr. Okwosa’s hospital. She revived after a while, but the trauma was so much that she died later.”

“Too bad, but it’s not my daughter’s portion.”

“Why?”

“You see, her suitor is a man of God, a Pastor.”

“Ana m a nu nke i ne kwu.[I hear what you are saying.] If he likes, let him be a Maharaja or Ogwugwu, priest or even the Bishop on the Niger. Isuikwuato is Isuikwuato.”

“Well, it’s not my daughter’s portion.”

“Whose then?”

“That house is jinxed. I can’t live there. I’d rather live in the ghetto than live in that beautiful house with all it’s beautiful amenities.”

“Why?”

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“Haven’t you heard that people, particularly men, die there every year or so. It is said that the Landlord is fetish and is an occultist, using those men to exchange his life.”

“Do you mean that if we move in there, I’ll die?”

“Yes o! Last year, three men died there, one after the other.”

“Well, it is not my portion.”

“I si gini?” [What do you say?]

“I said it is not my portion. I will not die, in fact, it is the landlord who will die if he tries me.”

“Well, I’ve said my own.”

“One day, an old friend said to me, ‘Why are you still poor? You have not improved at all. You have no car. You don’t travel abroad. All your children are in the country. Why? What’s the matter?’”

“The matter?”

“Yes!”

“Well, I think it’s my portion for now at least. Akala aka [Luck}, you might say.”

“Tufiakwa! [God forbid]. Poverty cannot be your portion. Nonsense! Look at me, I travel all over the world visiting my children from Paris to Washington, from there to London. I’ve even been to Iran. Yes, I go to medical checkups abroad. I was in Hillary’s campaign team. Yes, I was.”

“If something is not my portion, whose is it? … the devil’s?”

By Ijeamaka Nnite; 0806 411 8981

Comment by Family Tonic:

‘Not my portion’ is a rejection of something that does not belong to the individual. It was normal in those days, to reject posted letters that were not addressed to someone. Such letters were returned to the post office for proper direction to the owner. This is the basis of ‘Not my portion’.

Two factors are involved: Is there a promise of God covering the issue? If so, does it cover the person rejecting it? If God does not give any protection covering the issue it is meaningless to reject it. It is possible for God to make the provision and someone may not know it. This is why we should read and study the Bible all the time. A person will not benefit from God’s promise, though he is aware of it, if he does not apply it. My classmate in UNN made three A’s in GCE Advanced Level. The Federal Government Scholarship eluded him because he did not apply for it. Some of us with lower grades, who applied, benefited from it from day one.

     It is important to note, therefore, that the person, who wants to benefit from God’s promise, by rejecting what the devil offers, must be a child of God. His confidence is that God cannot lie. ‘Heaven and earth will pass away,’ He says, ‘but My Word will abide forever’. It is possible for an unbeliever to make a similar confession, ‘Not my portion’, but deep in his heart, he knows that he is deceiving himself. He is not expecting anything from God. Financial hiccup may compel a man, living in an apartment of four rooms with his family of six and their two servants, to decide to move into an apartment of two rooms. During their devotion, if he announces that some people have to leave his house, does it make any sense if any of his servants says, ‘Not my portion’? It makes sense if Aunty and her children say so.

The devil knows also the person making the claim. Ask the seven sons of Sceva their experience – Acts 19:14 &15. The devil told them that he knew Jesus and Paul but, “Who are thou?” The devil knows the promises of God and who will benefit from them. God works by principles and not by personalities. He does not answer a prayer because it is said by God’s Minister, nor blesses someone more when a Bishop prays for him. He does not heal because it is a Pastor’s son. He does, if the Pastor lives right and prays in faith.

A child of God allows the will of God to prevail in his life. It is possible for him to pass through an excruciating experience he did not bargain for. He may reject it, and may still pass through it. He may not understand why things are like that, but God does. Why should Joseph be sold by his brothers? Why should he be imprisoned for an offence he did not commit, instead of being celebrated for refusing the sinful advances of Uncle Portiphar’s amorous wife? But then, if he did not pass through these bitter tunnels, would he have become the Prime Minister of Egypt? ‘Not my portion’, does not violate the fact that, ‘All things work together for good to them that love God’- Rom. 8:28. The end justifies the means.

For further comment, Please contact: Osondu Anyalechi:  0802 3002-471;[email protected]