Lessons From The Girlfriend, Starring Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke
Character doesn’t need a publicist—and neither does the truth. In The Girlfriend, the desire to reveal what lies beneath someone’s carefully constructed image becomes almost as complicated as the deception itself. But there’s another lesson lurking beneath the drama: people rarely need to be told who someone is. Given enough time, they’ll discover it for themselves.
Not too long ago I watched the series The Girlfriend, starring Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke. The film, if I had to briefly summarize its lesson is: you don’t need to have the last word. Or, to be clearer: it’s not necessary to try and tell people who someone really is, they’ll find out.
The Girlfriend is a film about a woman (Robin Wright) whose son starts seeing a girl (Olivia Cooke) that he turns madly in love with. The viewer is taken on this wild ride of trying to determine if the woman or the girlfriend is the evil one? Is this a woman, a mother who can’t come to terms with her son moving on and finding a woman that peaks his interest? Or, is the girlfriend vindictive, trying to pull a son away from his semi-obsessive mother? I won’t spoil it for you, but it becomes clear in the series which woman is evil and which one feels the need to “have the last word,” to tarnish the other’s character to, essentially win.
“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”
I remember a few years ago having a conversation with a friend about when is it appropriate or not appropriate to warn someone about a negative person. And I remember this friend telling me, it’s not necessary to warn others, that the truth will eventually come out about someone’s negative character.
Some years later, I experienced the true colors of someone. I felt the need to warn someone influential about this person’s poor character because they [this influential person] was directly impacted by this negative person. I felt the need to protect them and their position from this negative person. Long story short, the influential person told the negative person my warning, something that was unnecessary. The words of my friend from years before, saying it’s not necessary to warn others, and that truth will eventually come out came rushing back.
Back to The Girlfriend. One of the women in the series felt the need to have the last word, to warn and things ended really, really, really bad for her. Things ended bad for the son as well. Sometimes things need to take their course. Sometimes, people need to just experience for themselves who a negative person really is.
Over the years I have taken solace in the fact that God sees everything. It’s written in several places in the Bible that truth will be exposed and we don’t have to get involved in the mess of it coming out. In addition to Luke 8:17, Luke 12:2–3: emphasizes that secret words and actions will be publicly proclaimed; Matthew 10:26: assures that nothing hidden will remain unknown, removing the need to fear. Mark 4:22: states that concealed matters are intended to be brought to light.
Unless someone’s life is in danger, someone is suffering, a child is being harmed, or some great calamity will happen that will hurt many, it’s best to stay out of it. Let people have their own experiences with the people they meet, and pray for discernment from God for your own self on who should be in your life or not. It’s a lot of work for us to take care of our own selves and mind our own business. Negative and messy people will eventually do something to expose themselves. We don’t have to get involved in life’s messes like the lesson portrayed in The Girlfriend.
Happy Friday, God bless you and go bless someone else.
Image Credit: Christoper RaphaelTRENDING
Character doesn’t need a publicist—and neither does the truth. In The Girlfriend, the desire to reveal what lies beneath someone’s carefully constructed image becomes almost as complicated as the deception itself. But there’s another lesson lurking beneath the drama: people rarely need to be told who someone is. Given enough time, they’ll discover it for themselves.