Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do? If you have been in this situation, you will agree with me that it's one of the most painful experiences anyone can go through. Feeling frustrated and helpless is inevitable. You may strive to explain yourself, hoping that people begin to rethink positively about you, but it will appear impossible to convince the hearts of many who have believed the false accusation without verifying.
Personally, I haven't found myself in this type of mess, none that I can remember, but I have a friend who went through emotional torture over false accusations. I journeyed with her all through the two years she was in a total mess; it felt as if I was the one going through the difficult phase, so I could relate to the feeling of frustration this can bring. It's more overwhelming when the accusation is centered around a character you preach against. If there's anything you can do to defend yourself or erase your name from such accusations spreading in the hearts of many, you wouldn't hesitate to do that; sadly, it's what it is. You could keep trying to explain but may end up feeling guiltier in the eyes of many. It's a feeling I don't wish to experience in my lifetime.
It happened that this friend of mine was into creating short video content on YouTube, aiming for monetization in the future. Her husband, on the other hand, didn't like her dreams, and so he didn't support her. All her efforts to get this man to support her dream proved abortive, and she felt so miserable. It's what she has wanted to do even prior to her marriage, but unfortunately, her husband doesn't like any online engagement. She writes a lot, including movies, and acts nicely; unfortunately, she wasn't given the opportunity to follow up on her dreams.
But then, the husband has a job that takes him away from the state every now and then. So on one of those days, when the husband traveled for one month due to his job, the lady kicked off her video content. She invited all the actors in her house, both male and female. There was a part they needed to act in a bedroom, and she plus two other guys, including the cameraman, were shooting the movie in her matrimonial bed; coincidentally, the husband came home unannounced! You can imagine what his reaction would look like, right?
No one expected that he would come back home earlier than he did, but he came and was disappointed in his wife for disobeying his instructions. The height of it all was that he accused her of committing adultery with those guys she was shooting movies with. At first, I thought he wasn't serious, but as days went by, weeks and months, he held on to these accusations seriously without evidence. The man involved his family members, church members, and friends and stands on the accusation as his basis to dissolve the marriage. My friend wished to wake up from such a dream, but unfortunately, it was her reality. The husband declared that he wants the marriage dissolved over adultery.
The lady, on the other hand, apologized sincerely for shooting the movie against the husband's instructions, but every effort she made to resolve the issue proved abortive. After a few months, I personally called her husband to apologize on her wife's behalf, but his response was baffling. He said, "Nkem, I am sorry, but it's too late; I have already got another woman pregnant, and she is about to give birth." Wooot!, it was a shocking revelation I received that hot afternoon from the man. It's obvious he was the one who was committing adultery secretly but had been waiting for something to hold on to the wife as her fault. He got what he wanted and falsely accused her innocent wife and married the woman he got pregnant.
It's been over four years since this issue escalated; good enough, the lady survived every emotional trauma she went through due to the false accusation.
This post was inspired by the #inleo community and my entry to the #marchinleo monthly topic Day 9. You can check out the prompt to get involved..
Images were taken from canva