The Sunday Mail
Life Issues with FGK
It is said, “Love is not perfect, but it has to be true.”
I find this quote very powerful because the truthfulness of love is the most difficult thing to determine.
When someone has money, those around that person can try by all means to impress them.
However, some people will quickly disappear as soon as the money is gone.
Therefore, it is wise to check if the people around you genuinely love you or your money.
Getting to know that the people whom you previously thought were genuine friends are actually fake can have devastating effects.
Allow me to share with you a couple’s experience with regards to relationships that are hinged on financial benefits.
There was a time when this couple was running a successful business.
The husband would invite his friends and church colleagues for outings. He would often accommodate his mates and encourage them on the journey of life.
He would spend huge amounts of money on them. Their friends would call and visit them often.
At one time, the husband was approached by a friend who also happened to be a church mate. The friend was being accused of fraud and his case was before the courts.
The friend and church mate pleaded for financial help from the couple. Taking him as a friend, the couple sacrificed their investments to save their friend from jail time.
Later on, the tide turned and the generous couple was affected by the economic meltdown.
The once prosperous couple approached those they had previously showered with gifts for financial assistance. They got none.
It dawned on the couple that the people they thought were their friends were not.
After compiling a long list of the people they had helped during their prosperous era, the couple was shocked to discover that not a single soul could sacrifice anything for them.
The couple was shocked to discover that after spending so much on their “friends”, the same people were now ridiculing them.
There was no one to console the couple.
If only the couple had managed to discern the genuine friends from the fake ones, they would have been more careful.
Fortunately, the trying times helped reveal the true colours of the people who were surrounding the couple.
In that moment of loneliness, the grace of God was brewing something bigger for the couple. It was as if God had deliberately made the couple poor so that the fake people around them could be exposed.
A few years later, the couple prospered again. Romans 12 vs 9 says, “Let love be genuine.”
Most of what we interpret as love is not genuine. If all love acts were genuine, there was never going to be such a command from the great Apostle Paul.
What you see is not always genuine love.
lf only you could read their hearts when they call you saying all sorts of sweet things, maybe you would see that what they miss is your pocket. They know that when you are around, their bills are covered.
Such people only want to spend time with you because they know that they will benefit from the association.
The moment you are vulnerable financially, that relationship will vanish.
Go through your list of friends and close allies today, distinguish each one of them from the other.
Take note of those who are close to you for what you can give them.
Shave them off quickly because they leave you.
Some marriages are also built on the love for money.
Some people in such marriages even killed their spouses in order to inherit their estates.
Reports of people who steal from their partners and run away are common. This shows that some people are in relationships for the financial benefits.
Yet relationships ought to be built on love, not material things.
Therefore, be careful of who sits on your table. Some people are reactionary. As long as you pamper them with gifts, they stick with you. The moment you stop, they unleash hell.
They will just evaporate when your coffers dry up. After your fall, others will not exit your life peacefully. They will smear your name.
Identify such people and avoid them. You do not need such people in your life. Study your relationships and watch out for the red flags.
Build strong, all-weather and unconditional relationships.
May God help us in discerning true relationships. May He help us maintain them.
Quote of the Week: Relationships built on possessions will not last, but relationships build on true love will last forever.
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