I watched an episode of Split and Steal on Cruise recently. It’s this show where they put five people together and give them a sum of money, usually one million Naira. The rule is simple: everyone can choose to either “split” or “steal.” If both people choose to split, they share the money equally. If one chooses to steal and the other splits, the person who steals goes home with everything. And if they both steal, nobody gets anything. It’s basically a game of trust.
This particular episode stood out to me because, unlike the usual drama and betrayals, it ended differently. It came down to three elderly men, and even though only two people could move to the final round, they handled it with so much calm and respect.
The organizers offered that if one person stepped down and took ₦100,000, the other two could play for ₦900,000 instead of ₦1,000,000. After some talk, one man agreed to step down, trusting the others’ promise that if they won, they’d still give him something extra. He left with ₦100,000, and I was honestly scared for him. He could have stayed in the game, but he chose trust.
When it came down to the final two, I was so nervous. You could tell both of them were, too. Because really, how can you ever be sure the other person won’t betray you? But at the end of it all, they both chose to split. They both trusted, and neither one of them was disappointed. You could see the surprise and joy on their faces. It was such a simple but powerful moment.
Watching this episode reminded me how hard it’s become for people to trust these days. Everyone is guarded. Everyone’s trying to protect themselves from being played. We call it “aura for aura” now….like, “you do me, I do you.” And while it sounds smart, it’s also exhausting. It’s slowly killing kindness and grace. Because when you’re constantly trying to protect yourself, you stop seeing people as humans, you just see potential threats. You become so self-focused that even when you don’t mean to, you start hurting others just to stay safe.
And I’ve caught myself doing this too.
When you’ve been betrayed, used, or made a fool of, it’s easy to build walls. You tell yourself you’re just “setting boundaries,” but sometimes those walls become so thick that even love and kindness can’t pass through anymore.
Watching those two men however, reminded me of something I’ve been slowly forgetting….that there’s still beauty in being human. There’s still beauty in choosing to trust, even when it might not work out.
Being human is about choosing to be vulnerable, even when it’s risky. It’s about doing what’s right, not just what benefits you. It’s about seeing others and choosing compassion, even when the world tells you to be selfish.
I don’t want to lose that part of me. No matter how many times my trust has been broken or how much hurt I’ve experienced, I still want to keep that soft part of my heart alive. Yes, I’ll have boundaries and I’ll learn from my experiences, but I don’t want to become someone who stops believing in goodness.
Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that when we stop trusting completely, we stop living fully.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
Beks Unfiltered 