I stared at the WhatsApp post for a while. Of course I recognized the face. An old classmate. Lost touch with him since we completed school many years ago.

Here he was, on the WhatsApp status of a close friend, posing as a preacher.

I found it hard to accept the change. That boy has never been serious with his life, chasing girls and cracking silly jokes to disrupt classes. Since when did he become an evangelist?

Many have turned to this trade of preaching for survival, only God above can tell how many were in it for the love of the game. Besides, there were talks of many who used charms to tell fortunes masking themselves as God’s spokespersons.

I know a genuine man of God when I see one. This one didn’t look it, didn’t smell it. Or, am I being judgmental? Is it because I knew his beginnings that I find it hard to accept the new him? Am I placing myself in the place of God, and not leaving judgment to God? Even if he were fake, what can I do about it?

I read snippets of his messages. The post indicated he had IG, Facebook and Twitter accounts. I visited the pages. The messages were deep, but the messenger’s past tainted the messages for me, and it was hard swallowing anything he said no matter how useful it sounded.

I’ve always thought Mary was discerning and deeply rooted in Christ. I expected her to know better. Couldn’t she sense he might be fake? She seemed so into this old classmate of mine who has suddenly turned into a preacher. I haven’t told her that I personally knew the guy in her post. Maybe I shouldn’t.

Perhaps, I should just remain in the dark and observe more. Things come to those who wait. Something tells me this won’t last, but where is proof? I can only sit and wait…