Why temptation is a necessary tool to prove love, loyalty and steadfastness, By Anayo Nwosu

By Anayo Nwosu

I was in the 6th month of my employment in Zenith Bank when my manager, a DGM in rank then, called me from a customer's office, asking me to come meet her there. 

She handed over to me, a bag full of cash with a filled deposit slip indicating that I was given N85,000. 

My manager asked me to go lodge the money into the customer's account in our branch.

It was the customer's day sales.

When I got to the branch, I realized upon recounting the money, that the actual amount I was given was N111,750.

I smiled, picked another deposit slip, filled the correct figure, deposited the money accordingly into customer's account.

"They can't get me, not after all I had gone through to get this job. Devil is a liar", I rebuked the devil.

I returned both correct deposit slip and incorrectly filled one to the visibly anxious customer.

The chief accountant of the company, heaved a sigh of relief when I rendered the deposit evidence to her.

She praised God that I survived the temptation. She had worked in a bank before and knew the consequences if I had failed the test.

The accountant who became my friend later told me that she was coopted into the plot, though reluctantly, by her boss and my branch manager who wanted to tempt me with cash before approving my confirmation appraisal report.

My branch manager wanted to see if I would succumb to a temptation of money.

The operations staff in banks are subjected to more frequent pre-planned temptations by their superiors who are required to keep records of so doing.

This kind of temptation is called Integrity Test in banks.

It is a major tool in testing the bank staff's honesty or inclination to pilfer bank's cash or other bank's assets.

Bank teller may be given more cash by the supervisor to see if he or she would report the overage by the end of the business day.

A mystery shopper or customer may be asked to hand over to a bank teller, say N140,000 and be told that he/she was given N135,000.

An unsuspecting teller with integrity issues would keep the overage and would be embarrassed when the lid is blown up.

A person who fails an Integrity Test in a bank is sacked immediately.

Internal Control officers are empowered to periodically carry out a sweep of the drawers and offices of bank officers, read and analyze every materials picked to see if the officers being checked are involved in any other business inimical to the bank's interests.

Some banks conduct Integrity Tests more often than others even though technology is continuously taking over the critical operational areas hitherto open for human manipulation hence reducing the the need to tempt staff with raw cash.

There are situations whereby someone who had passed the tests many times earlier or over the years, could one day succumb to a new temptation or integrity test.

A seemingly honest staff could succumb to a temptation due to changes in the staff's home or other environments.

It is a tested truth that good people change with bad situations.

Have you tested that person you call your love, loyal staff, best friend, successor or confidant?

If you have not done so, on what basis do you take the risk of elevating such a person to such a level?

That's careless.

Even God uses temptation as a proof of man's love for him, fueling the school of thought that Satan is God's staff in charge of temptation.

Who didn't God test?

God tested Abraham in many instances culminating in asking him to sacrifice his priceless heir apparent but, Abraham prevailed.

That of Mr. Job was very heart-rending because he was a good man.

It was particularly befuddling that the plot to tempt Job was hatched in God's court in heaven with clear approval by God.

Clearly note that Job's children and wives (i.e. fellow human beings) were wasted in the process.

Why such collateral damage just to prove a man's steadfastness?

But Job prevailed.

What was the need to tempt God's only begotten son, a fellow God?

Lucifer himself had to descend to handle the temptation of Jesus.

An introspective person would notice how calmly and obediently Jesus followed Satan to his "temptation" venues. This is a validation of the usefulness of temptation.

It is noteworthy that while Jesus was being tempted by Satan, Jesus was hungry after 40 days dry fasting. That was the height of human vulnerability.

But Jesus didn't fail the test.

Jesus knew how inebriating or challenging God's temptation could be when he enjoined us in "Our Lord's Prayer" to ask God "not to lead us into temptation".

It has become clear that Adam and Eve were subjected to the same temptation and they failed and were punished severely.

If we are created in the image of God, we should be smart to use temptation as a tool to determine the inner proclivities of our staff, spouses, and associates.

But my uncle told me early in my marriage not to subject my wife to an integrity test.

He asked me, "ijuta isi nkita, i welu agba ya mee gini?" meaning "of what use is the result of an enquiry if is very unfavorable?"

I have only applied my uncle's advice to my wife alone and never beyond that. Don't ask me why because, I will not answer.

I have instituted as a personal philosophy, the use of periodic integrity tests of staff under my supervision.

It helps.

A man created in God's image should act like his creator if a trusted person fails an integrity test.

It is only right that you punish, banish, estrange or withdraw the privileges of anyone who fails your temptation, as our God would.

You could forgive the offender but must redefine your relationship with the fallen otherwise you would be done in.

An 80 years old man so thrilled by the discovery of DNA paternity testing, ordered that his children be tested.

The results were very accurate and convincing.

The old man died a day after he got the report which showed that he was not the father of his 7 kids.

Even the administrators integrity tests or temptations could suffer from the outcomes of the tool that is supposed to be beneficial to them.