But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5:39).

This is a story of deceit and betrayal and how hard it is sometimes to be a Christian.

I am living since 2006 in a shared flat (usually 2 to 4 persons in total).

For 16 years it was smooth sailing which probably should have made me suspicious, since all good things come to an end sooner or later.

In 2021, one of my friends, who had lived with me in this flat since 2006, moved out to live together with his girlfriend.

As a good roman-catholic, I thought it is time to give some underprivileged persons a chance, people who have trouble finding a flat to rent because of their nationality or looks, and was open to rent out two rooms to a member of a minority.

A 40 year old man from the African country of Benin showed up and made a very good impression: polite, well-mannered, respectful (or so I thought) and was very grateful that I decided to give him a sublease (and to be honest, he made the best impression of all the people who applied).

The first six months after he had moved in went without a hitch, then he disappeared for four months, did not pay a single cent. It turned out he went back to Benin, declaring that it is normal for him to visit his home country and not paying the rent (or utility costs) and that I am a racist and fascist for telling him to pay his rent on time.

Since the country I live in has an awful justice system, this person spent about 36 months in my flat, leaving every year for four months to go back to his home country of Benin (without paying anything of course during this time) until I was finally able to get a court order telling him to leave the flat (which he ignored) and I had to pay 2,000 EUR for the bailiff and the eviction.

In total, I had to pay about 10,000 EUR to pay for his rent, all the utility costs he did not pay, and all the expenses for a lawyer and the bailiff.

I had to use all my savings to cover all the costs and was broke when he was finally evicted.

He disappeared after the eviction and after charging him with property damages and fraud police told me that he had left the country for either Benin or another European country and I will never see a single cent of the money he owes me.

After that big mistake, I actually thought the worst was over and I cannot make another bad choice when deciding on a new lodger. But, of course, that was not the case.

After I had advertised the two now empty rooms, I decided to rent out the rooms to a German male who was polite, well-mannered, respectful (you get the picture) in January 2026. He was homeless and as a Christian I did not have much of a choice. I considered it as my duty as a Christian to give him a chance (and you can imagine me rolling my eyes while writing this).

I told him the story of the African from Benin and that it is important, that everyone pays his share of the rent, since all my financial resources were gone and I will need a lot of time to refill the tank.

On July the 1^st 2026, he terminated his contract because he felt unhappy in the flat (illegal termination, since there is no legal ground to terminate a contract because you feel unhappy...) and disappeared after having stolen some of my property as well, telling me that if I become homeless now is not his problem.

The lack of gratitude after I had rescued him from homelessness is mind-boggling or is this the way people are these days? If so, then I am a fossil without any knowledge of human behaviour.

After he had left, another main tenant disappeared a day later, after I had found out that he had embezzled several thousand EUR that was supposed to go to the landlord.

My life is in shambles now. Without any financial resources to my disposal anymore, becoming homeless now is staring right into my face, unless something like a miracle happens and I find help.

The hardest thing for me will be the loss of my cat Missy, whose life I share for ten years now.

That upsets me actually more than the loss of my home of 20 years.

I tried to do my duty as a Christian and was betrayed. Maybe that is the way it is now and you cannot trust anyone anymore, but to be honest, that is not a world I want to live in. But one thing I know for sure now: it is hard to turn the other cheek.