There is light at the end of the tunnel
Maureen Odubeng | Friday September 9, 2016 15:19
Maunge in his book uses a character whose love for money leads him in the wrong path, which ends up bringing a lot of pain to him and his family.
The author captures that ‘that the most powerful weapons satan uses to punish people is mostly in these areas; 1: the love for money (it goes hand in hand with the love of heroism or power), 2: the spirit of pride (it breaks marriages and allows you to fail in your partnership), and 3: the spirit of greediness (it is attached to jealousy and lack of contentment)’. (page 3)
Maunge’s inspirational book hits close to home, as it captures social ills, which have befallen society, using gambling addiction as the start of all troubles.
The main character in the book, Mooketsi Moreki is someone who is blessed in life, as he already has a beautiful wife, two beautiful children, and a beautiful home. The couple drives nice cars, but Moreki for some reason seems to want more, and he is in a big rush to get lots of money. His love for money consumes him so much that he begins to lose control of his thoughts, and distinguishing between right and wrong.
In the beginning Moreki is enticed after finding out that a certain woman visited a witch doctor to give her a concoction to help her win the lottery. His love for money immediately makes him a customer of the witch doctor. He does not waste much time and visits the witch doctor, passing by a car dealership, to check out a few toys he will buy after winning.
The main character shows a lot of greediness, because while he and his wife are not filthy rich they can afford a lot of things, including paying for their children’s school fees at an English medium school.
Wanting to get rich quick, and never feeling like the money is enough, Moreki becomes addicted to gambling, hence the envy for the woman who won the lottery by using a witch doctor.
‘I have constantly talked to my friend about the dangers of wanting to become rich fast, I even told him that being rich does not guarantee happiness, there are many rich people who may be happy but in actual fact, very poor in livelihood’. (see Revelation 3;7). (page 5)
The author makes the tale a bit personal as he refers to the main character as a good friend of his.
Moreki without betting an eye-lid enlists the services of the witch doctor referred to as Mwamba in the book. From that point on, things spiral out of control for Moreki, as without thinking he gives in to all the demands of the witch doctor, which includes selling his own son’s soul. He, all of a sudden, becomes untruthful to his wife, in order to satisfy the demands of his new found witch doctor, which he believes is going to be a money-spinner for him.
‘As he set in Mwamba’s shrine, he was given a mixture of black concoction and some instructions on how to use it. He was to wait until the December 12 2013, when it would be the right time to buy the lotto ticket. After he had bought the ticket, he was to make an X mark on the backside on the ticket with ox blood. For all the trouble, Mwamba itemised all the things that Moreki should present as offering to Doctor Mwamba; three white chickens, a black he-goat, and P500.
In addition to this, there was a covenant made between the two parties; after winning the lotto Moreki was to present ten thousand pula, as a token of appreciation, and Mwamba was to reinforce Moreki with some muti in order to protect him against people who will become jealous of him and try to kill him because of his money. The other so-called ‘offering’ was unthinkable. Mwamba wanted something dear to Moreki’s heart, his blood, his only son.’ (pages 10-11)
Moreki’s love for money and greed clouded him so much, that he even agreed to gamble with his son’s life.
While the muti seemed to work in his favour for some time, Moreki ultimately lost everything. With the money came more problems, he started partying, more, cheating on the wife and becoming abusive towards her. His partying led him to hazardous behaviour, of drinking too much, and substance abuse.
‘As a result of having too much money, Moreki started drinking and partying. He was on several times slapped with drinking and reckless driving tickets by the traffic police. He started giving Lydia (wife) and the kids less time, just because he wanted to have fun outside the family, spending money in nightclubs, prostitution, and less on his family’s household needs. He spent more money on gambling and less on school fees for his kids.’ (page 32)
The wife got tired and ended up filing for divorce, his son died because of the agreement he made with the devil, and his health started deteriorating.
Moreki’s money disappeared at the same rate as it came, and he was now leaving the life close to that of a beggar. After seeking God’s intervention Moreki’s life was restored, he got his family back, even though he had permanently lost his son. Moreki and the wife were blessed with another child. The book is a must have as apart from showing that no challenges are too big for God, it can help someone who has not hit rock bottom as yet, to change their ways.
The book also gives hope to those who have given up on life, and shows that all challenges can be overcome, only if you are willing to work at it. The author uses supporting scripture throughout the book.