Thursday, June 19, 2008

Wounds of a Friend?


Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
-- Proverbs 27:6

What about the wounds of one you thought was a friend?

My son had his wallet lifted. It was later found where he first missed it. However, in the meantime, two charges were made on his debit card. Due to various events, my son traced the loss back to a friend he has known several years and led to the Lord. Or at least we hope he did. Right now, the fruit we can inspect isn't smelling very sweet. The friend is still denying having anything to do with the lost wallet. Evidence strongly suggests otherwise.

The bank can reverse the charges, so the loss will be temporary. The wallet was recovered, so identity theft is unlikely. Important documents don't have to be replaced. That is a blessing.

How would you handle a situation like this? This young man committed fraud against my son and refuses to acknowledge his guilt. Would you report him to the police? Give him one last chance to repent? Let it slide? There is the desire for retribution or justice to be done. But aside from that, what will help this young man the most? Getting away with it? Getting caught? No matter what, it's bound to be messy.

Please pray for our family to have wisdom in how to deal with this. And please pray for this young man. More than anything, we'd like to see him confess, seek the Father's forgiveness, and choose to follow Christ.

2 comments:

Brent said...

Before I'd accuse anyone, I'd have enough proof to convict them in a court of law. I know it's bizarre, but sometimes our children don't always get things right. I'd line those ducks up, first.

Heidi Day said...

I miss your blog. Are you free on July 25th at 11:00? I am having a women's lunch here in my home and wondered if you could come since you're off this summer. Let me know. I'm having a table-ful, but we can squeeze another wonderful friend in if you can make it. Heidi