Look Before You Leap: A Relationship Case Study (Part 2)

Jack was so amazed at Jane’s wisdom because in two weeks of implementing her recommendations, he realized a level of profit his business had not seen in five months.  Coincidentally within this time, Mike told Jane to stop seeing Jack because of:

• the strange feeling for caution he has suddenly developed about the whole drama;
• some passive messages Jack has consistently communicated to her lately and;
• the attitudes and contradictions that had began to manifest about Jack.

Summarily Mike had come to the conclusion that Jack had a hidden agenda and was playing with Jane’s feeling without her realizing it. Unfortunately Jane was innocently engrossed in her philosophy of helping a ‘brother in need’, hence, perceived Mike as being jealous. This whole argument resulted in Jane avoiding Mike, her fiancé.

Mike tried to rebuild the line of communication to no avail and decided to follow up the issue prayerfully (that is asking God to open Jane’s eyes to the reality on ground before it becomes too late).  Two weeks later, Jane started seeing through all the lies Jack was telling. Some of which were:

•   He lived with two children (the purported daughters of his aunty living in London) but Jane discovered interacting with them that they were his daughters. And he had them under oath never to tell her about it;
• The business problem was a calculated scheme designed to drag her into a sympathy marriage;
• He wrecked a ‘marriage relationship’ with a young lady already living with him. Who he presented as his employee two weeks after meeting with Jane;
• His boast that he can do anything to woo any woman he was interested in.
• His mother advised him to impregnate Jane since she is playing hard to get.

By Jane’s standards, the above were very unchristian. So she opted out and told Jack to stop visiting her, reminding him that she was in a marriage relationship with somebody else.

At this instance, Jack demanded to know who her fiancé was so that he could negotiate a truce with him (pay him off – whatever price he demanded).  Jane felt slighted by this offer and demanded never to see Jack again in her whole live. It was at this point that Jack gave her the shocker of her life: ‘if I cannot marry you, nobody will’.

To make good his threat, Jack reported to the leadership of their fellowship that:

• he has been having a sexually relationship with Jane;
• he (Jack) also caught Jane in bed with her fiancé (Mike);
• he is willing to forgive and marry her (citing Deuteronomy 22:28 - 29);
• his daughters wants her as step mother;
• etc.

To cut the whole drama that evolved from these allegations short, a seed of bitterness was sown between Jane, Jack and most members of the fellowship. Tongues wagged and after a very long time, the fellowship’s lower court heard the case and decided that Jane should be joined in marriage with Jack on the basis of (Deuteronomy 22:28-29). This decision was received with much more animosity as many felt they took a rather rash decision since the court did not invite or listen to Mike’s part of the story considering that he was indicted in the case.

Jane was disappointed with the decision and made her position very clear to the fellowship leader. Her position was simple: ‘Marriage with Jack will never happen. Instead of me marrying Jack, I would rather embrace celibacy’. It took an articulated fight put up by Mike to get the highest court of arbitration in the organization to hear the case because he felt the judgment handed out by the lower court was biased. The final verdict by this court was:

• that the Elders in the fellowship will ask God to forgive both of Jack and Jane;
• given the history of the case, Jack cannot marry Jane;
• Jack should straighten his life and live a godly life and;
• Jack should marry the young lady already leaving with him given his argument from Deuteronomy 22:28-29.

Jack was displeased by this ruling so he stopped attending the fellowship on the grounds that he was not given a fare hearing.  Seeing the twist her life has taken (all that have happened in a very short while), her mistakes, how Mike fought for her innocence and the timely intervention of the higher appellant court of the fellowship; Jane sobbed through the night seeking God’s forgiveness for betraying His trust and that of Mike.

She eventually sought Mike’s forgiveness. Mike forgave her and went on to marry her.  Today they are happily married and are blessed with 3 beautiful children. Jane has offered her experience to God and is using it to model young girls on relationship heart aches”. In her word’s ‘Be careful, for you could be the very next innocent victim’.