Uncovering the Greed of My Friend Mark

^{Edited on Canva with Image by Mary Pahlke from Pixabay}

Friendship is a vital aspect of life. It is a relationship built on mutual trust, respect, and care. The truth is none of us can truly live in isolation, so we need some friends to sail through the journey of life together with.

However, sometimes, we tend to neglect certain traits in our friends that can be detrimental to our relationship and even extends to our personal wellbeing, and some of such traits is greed and stinginess. In my case, I realized too late that my friend Mark was a greedy person.

Compared to being stingy, I believe that greed (wanting more than you can get/deserve) is a very gross offense as it has more ramifications that just being stingy (not being willing to share). My friend Mark in recent times have shown me what an excellent example of greed it.

The Deal That Revealed Mark's Greed

Mark and I had been friends for a few years, and I never really paid attention to his traits of greed. However, it all changed when we decided to purchase an advertising display board from AliExpress. We agreed to split the cost of the board equally. Unfortunately, the deal didn't work out, and we received a full refund of 400,000NGN.

However, we paid in USD so between the periods of purchase and refund, USD appreciated an this 400,000NGN was well around 450,000NGN or even higher (however, I was focused on retrieving my investment capital and not interested in the exchange rate at that point).

Refusal to Refund My Quarter of the Money

Although the deal didn't work out, Mark refused to refund my quarter of the money, which was 200,000NGN (after a few months of complaints, he managed to send 50,000NGN and that was the end till this 2 years into the deal). This was despite the fact that he worked for an oil servicing company and earned over 200,000NGN monthly, while I was unemployed at the time (and still unemployed).

I pleaded with him, reminding him of our friendship and how I needed the money, but he refused to budge.

Lingering Debt for Over Two Years

The debt has been lingering for over two years now, and all efforts to retrieve it have proved abortive. I have called, texted, and even invited friends to speak to him to demand my money, but he always comes up with excuses or claims that he doesn't have the money.

More funny is that he never thinks about the money till the next time I talk about it. It was just obvious that my intelligence was being insulted.

Why Mark is a Greedy Person

It is now evident to me that Mark is a greedy person. His refusal to refund my money, despite his financial capability and our friendship, shows that he prioritizes his interests over our friendship. It is important to note that greed is a trait that can destroy friendships and relationships if left unchecked. As a result, it is important to pay attention to the traits of our friends and address them early on to avoid complications in the future.