In our previous meditation, we saw the indiscretion of a man-caused by anger. He filled his wife’s car with concrete to register his displeasure about her action. Though there had been rough patches in their marriage, something served as the immediate cause of his unguarded behaviour. A supermarket in their city promised to pay anyone ready to legally change their names to the name of the supermarket. It was a promotional exercise. The supermarket offered to give 50,000 RUB (GBP 703) monthly as compensation for the change. It was that offer that informed the name change! The name change enraged the husband and that led to the bizzare behaviour.

” The choices that people make are a reflection of the values that they hold dear…Every temptation comes with an offer. The devil offers some form of rewards to secure people’s consent. “

This episode brings to light several lessons. We often hear that two wrongs do not make a right. This is one clear illustration of this fact. Change of the name may be considered wrong, but filling the car with concrete can never make it right. That was going to further widen the gulf between them. The first rule of action in a conflict whether it be marital or professional is to de-escalate tension. The course of action by the couple did not fulfill this fundamental principle. Secondly, the choices that people make are a reflection of the values that they hold dear. What the woman did could be considered as sacrificing her marriage on the altar of mammon. She simply chose financial gain above marital bliss. Finally, there is a lesson here regarding temptation. Every temptation comes with an offer. The devil offers some form of rewards to secure people’s consent. What must be borne in mind is that the rewards are a hoax; they don’t last. As someone rightly puts it, all of Satan’s apples have worms. They will leave a sour taste behind.