Very early in the morning, I was greeted by a stranger who looked me square in the eye and said, “It’s really not my fault, but I must confess that my husband does not deserve the disgrace I have just put him through.” Her name was Ella, Joel’s wife (Not her real names). She was famous for running a tavern (brothel) before she married Joel. The death of her parents could be responsible for her wicked behavior.
She lost her parents to the cold hands of death during her community’s annual festival, Kenke. This left her without the usual parental care that she had enjoyed from the time of her birth. The void that was created in Ella’s life needed to be filled. In the words of the ancient philosopher Aristotle, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” In his words, nature requires that every space be filled with something, even if that something is colorless and odorless air. This idea is in line with the words of Jesus in Luke 11:24-26.
One day, while Ella was reviewing the activities of her past, she quickly came across a certain event that caused her to question the existence of Almighty God, that is, allowing death to take her parents from her, thus subjecting her to untold hardships. It was in this period of her life that she met a childhood friend who introduced her to prostitution. In the performance of her duties, one thing led to another and she became pregnant. Early in her pregnancy, she met Joel and they were quickly married. She gave birth to her baby a few months after her marriage to Joel. Her unsuspecting husband accepted the baby and was very grateful to God for her mercies.
After the arrival of the baby, Ella had an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ and was born again. She was very happy to tell me her secret past when she came into my office for advice. Actually, it was a period of joy with her, but her parting words from her kept me thinking. Up to this point, I haven’t come up with a workable idea on the subject. It has always been a period of sober reflection for me ever since Ella scolded me upon finding out that her husband will appear at the next council session: “Don’t tell my husband that my only son has strange paternity!” It seemed to me that my advice found no place in Ella’s heart. My heart hasn’t stopped beating up and down trying to figure out the reason for her sudden decision, after all is said and done.
However, I was able to recall an article I read about a woman in Dallas who gave birth to twins who did not have the same father. Trust today’s scientists, this incident was quickly shown to be possible and they even went as far as giving it a medical term, heteropaternal superfertilization. Don’t worry about that harrowing nomenclature, it’s probably not worth memorizing, but what concerns us here is the case of a mother who was actually pregnant before living with her husband.
The main problem here lies in the woman’s fear of losing her child to someone outside her home, thus jeopardizing her marriage. It is no longer news that there are places today where the laws allow children of strange paternity or children born during the marriage to belong to the husband. That is, a married woman can have extramarital affairs or become pregnant by another man, but as long as she is not divorced from her current husband, her child belongs to her husband. This woman in question is of the opinion that as long as her secret stays with her and is not revealed to her husband or the biological father of the child, then the child belongs to her current husband.
In Africa, where the birth of a child in any household serves as a guarantee for family unity, it is feared that if the marriage ultimately does not produce any male children, the available one will serve as a guarantee until the secret is discovered. made known. Now I understand. This woman in question was not actually threatening my life, but she was trying to do what an average African woman would do in her situation. When the Dallas woman had an affair during their marriage that resulted in a pregnancy that produced twins, she and her husband, after noticing that the twins had different facial features, went to a lab for a paternity test. Whatever the reason, it was later claimed that the woman had no intention of telling the other parent about her child.
In that part of the world, as in Africa, twins with different paternity appear to be considered by law to be no different from a married mother who has just given birth to an only child as a result of an affair. This, according to experts, is nothing more than “forcing” a child to a strange parent (non-biological parent) for the sake of family unity and the fear of leaving the child fatherless. Thinking about the matter further also led me to many conclusions, part of which is that no matter how well-intentioned this woman may be, any home that is not built on the truth will eventually fall apart. Therefore, I am of the opinion that the woman should make this “secret” known to her husband, because if he hears it from someone else (I’m not sure if I’m the only person who knows about this “secret”), the result could be fatal.
Friends, if you were in my place, what would you do or say? What other advice would you give Ella? I need her support because I think she may have some good ideas for solving this problem. Once again, some of you who have had the opportunity to hear me preach, read my books and articles, and meet with me in person, with everything you know about me, I think we can discuss this matter. You can be sure that when I say “I need your help”, surely I must be needing your help. So, it’s up to you to sow in my life. Words are seeds, and by the grace of God, your words-seeds in the form of suggestions, advice and personal opinions on this matter will surely germinate and bear good fruit. Let me know about you!