In episode five of Everything Becomes F: The Perfect Insider (Subete ga F ni Naru), the director’s wife serves tea and cookies to Sohei, Moe, and the associate director, during which time Moe subjects the woman to tough questions. Even though the widower says she’s trying to keep herself from thinking about her husband’s murder, she just doesn’t seem that broken up. He died mere hours before via a knife to the back of the neck, but eh, she’s mostly fine.
Denial, or is she feeling justice has been served?
I wonder if the director’s wife knows what’s now been revealed to the audience, that the director, Shiki’s uncle (or “uncle”), had an affair with his niece when she was underage. Maybe she also knows that her husband (possibly) had some role in the deaths of Shiki’s parents.
And in the end, perhaps the director’s wife is relieved at this comeuppance. He got was what coming to him.
Hidden from the view of the world (with the possible exception of a few intimate people who may have had knowledge of it, as I suggest above) is this affair between Seiji and Shiki. But even in secret, Seiji, who though he was being manipulated was still absolutely at fault for committing such acts outside of his marriage with an minor, paid the price. He was destroyed by his sin.
The sins we commit, and often particularly the “big” ones (which happen to be those we usually hide) can destroy us. They beget sin after sin as we hid the original one, and they prevent us from reconciling with God and thus from strengthening our relationship with him. And as we effectively sever that relationship, it’s no surprise that such sins might destroy us.
I’ve come close to such an experience myself.
A couple of years ago, during a time when I felt very proud of my spiritual state (even as I was unable to admit myself how ungracious I was to those closest to me), something unexpected happened. I quite suddenly found myself tempted by a young lady – a problem because, of course, I’m married and a father.
It was a confusing and startling experience for me. I was surprised (and happy) that a beautiful woman was attracted to me. But only, only by circumstances provided by God did I get off this road. Not by my own strength, for I realized that I would have made the choice to fall if the timing worked out (and it, by all accounts, should have) – in my weakness, I was given grace by God. Given the choice, I would have destroyed myself through secret sin; but because God had other plans, I did not.
Examples in the Bible abound in regards to such sins we keep under wraps. King David’s is similar to my own and to Seiji’s. He wasn’t destroyed either, but someone else was – his son. A child died as the result of sin. In other examples, the sinner himself was the one who died. So many have been like Seiji, physically destroyed by sinful choices.
Thankfully, many of us, like David, are given mercy by God. For our God is a gracious and compassionate God – He still had plans for David, who was repentant, as He does for us all. And if we turn from our sin, we, too, can avoid destruction. We need to remember how good God is, and how he’s worth more than anything we seek, as tempting as as those things – or people – may be.
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Featured image used by permission (art by 士雷)