I remember a time in my early teenage when I was assigned to pay off debtors. As the sums involved were pretty substantial, and I had never handled such large amounts in my life, a number of 'supposed' trustworthy relatives were assigned to act as bouncers. After pawning some dear jewellery that my mother had accumulated on the sly over the years, we headed off to pay the creditors. With a heavy heart for money lost, one by one, the names on the list were struck off. I thought that was the end of it, until a few more emerged out of the blues 12 years later. That is another story.After the unenviable job of distributing the dues to the creditors, the relatives who were given the task of standing guard during the work thought it was time for their contributions. After all, it was lunch time. A job 'well done' needed remuneration, they thought. And off the two assigned relatives decided that they should retire to have a good meal for mission accomplished. I, the timid one, had just to follow orders. After all, they helped us, I thought.
Back home, I got quite an earful for the unnecessary extravagance. She explained that it was a sort of a mercy mission for them, and they should not be expecting anything in return.
Then it dawned on me. Nobody is going to do anything for nothing. Gone are the days where when people actually did things because it was the right thing to do. Now, it was, what is it for me? Many thrive on other people's misery and appear to be emphatic to your predicament. They hope for your situation to be more hopeless than it already is. In that way, their services would seem indispensable and 'God-sent' like.
Well, many professionals earn their livelihood in that manner. They are just waiting for a malady for them to prosper - funeral director, lawyer, police, people of medical industry?
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