THE PARADOX OF CHEDDAR

Money on my mind...

I smile but my heart breaks for the past. Fifteen years past and I still contemplate on how my life would’ve been because of the master I found; the root of all evil*. I still remember a ten-year old boy who tasted the sweetness of wealth and got addicted. How is this possible you say? How can a young boy fall in love with money before his first crush?
I discovered the power money exuded over the needy; naming them ‘the poor’, because without him, money, they would have nothing but the gnawing lust for what they can never have. My eyes feasted on the charm of the wealthy and the freedom of the spendthrift1. In my mind, money broke the chains of social sequestration2 diminishing that foul stench of inferiority and intense insatiable3 envy of the poor. I saw other children my age working hard on people’s farms to make money and for some reason, I saw this as an avenue to start acquiring wealth because my vision for the future was to be rich at all cost.
Consequently, I left school at the age of twelve and started toiling on people’s farms to make money. I can recall the echoes of my mother’s admonishment as they bounced of the surface of my heart; I grew up without a father so what could possibly scare me? Was it her threats to toil even harder to make my younger siblings more prosperous than I? Or was it her fatigued voice and calloused palms that begged for rest? As young as I was, my head didn’t seem to be buried in the right purpose but then, a miracle happened that changed my life for the better.
The father I never had returned one day when I was fifteen years of age. I can’t say whether I was happy or sad but the presence of his authority in the house tamed my wild spirit and what shame it was when he got to know that his eldest son, to whom his inheritance was going to be passed on to could not read even a class four textbook. It was then that I saw the disappointment my life had caused everyone; my love for money and wealth. However, throughout all the shame and disgrace, my father still endeavoured to make me a literate. He enrolled me in a private school and having repented of my sinful ways, I worked hard to atone for all the lost years. There are the times I feel like breaking out into praises and exultation to God for delivering me from the path of destruction.
By God’s grace I was able to pass my BECE and WASSCE exams with wonderful results which granted me admission into University of Health and Allied Sciences, UHAS. Even though I was delivered from the domination of money, I can’t ignore how it has kept the poor oppressed and hopeless. It is therefore my dream to go back to my community after school and help those who have been bound by the chains of financial constraints. I still dream of the day that God will bless me with enough wealth to help as many people as possible in the community.
Indeed, this is the doing of the Lord and it is marvellous in my sight!
This is my testimony to inspire the broken hearted; in all situations, Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever, Psalm 118:1.
Hebrews 13:5
“Keep your life from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never fail you nor forsake you’”

Glossary
*1Timothy 6:10
“For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs”
1 – Spendthrift: Someone who spends money wastefully.
2 – Sequestration: The process of separating from external influence.
3 – Insatiable: Incapable of being satisfied or appeased.
4 – Cheddar: Money.