Scripture: Proverbs 27:6

A couple of months ago, my husband and I watched Initial D, the film adaptation of the Japanese Initial D manga and anime series. We really enjoyed it as it was both entertaining and educational. Initial D tells the story of a young tofu delivery boy who fell in love with a girl, got his heart-broken and became a drift-racing legend.

Itsuki Tachibana, after seeing Natsuki Mogi, Takumi Fujiwara’s girlfriend, leaving a love hotel with an older man, decided to inform his friend Takumi who didn’t take the information well. He insulted his friend and almost beat him up for ‘disrespecting his girlfriend.’ Had I been in his shoes, I am pretty sure I would have acted the same. How could he fathom the idea that his girlfriend was an escort girl, telling him she was going out of town just to find out that she was around this whole time? He eventually sees Natsuki with an older man, which confirms Itsuki’s claim.

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” – Proverbs 27:6 (KJV)

Yes, faithful are the wounds of a friends. Itsuki knew that telling his friend about what he saw would hurt him deeply and he also knew that it was the right thing to do. As much as Takumi was hurt, coming face to face with the truth, made him realize that his friend had his interest at heart and was just trying to save him from more heartache down the road. Itsuki earned his friend’s respect and their relationship was strengthened in the process.

Some of us have been in a situation where we thought using flattering words was the only way to win a friendship or to get out of an uncomfortable situation. We smile with people even though we are so sick of their sight. We pretend to like someone just because they are popular and being with them means having a free pass to many events. When asked by your friend if her makeup looks right, you quickly say yes, when you know it’s really bad. I know they are people out there who hate rejection and are only happy when others flatter and make them feel special. Part of it has to do with their upbringing (when parents allow their children to do whatever they want without consequences or for fear of their children resenting them). Such people should be avoided because they are a pain to be around and they don’t care about what we have to say.

We need to be around people who can build us up and whom we can help build up too. Let’s not settle to be someone’s puppet even if we are getting something out of it. We are not helping each other by lying to one another and we are not helping ourselves by concealing the truth.

For an in-depth explanation of this scripture, visit LetGodBeTrue.com

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