Wise Advice from Forrest

“Remember this: while somebody is down there kissin’ your butt, they could just as easily be bitin’ it too.”  Forrest Gump (The fictional idiot savant of the book, Forrest Gump (1986), and the same named, 1994 Oscar winning film. )  From the book, Gumpisms. The Wit and Wisdom of Forrest Gump, 1994.

Forrest Gump (“I’m not a smart man …”) said whatever came into his mind and sometimes what he said was quite profound.  Flatterers (“butt-kissers” if you will) don’t just give praise, but excessive, insincere praise.  Praise designed to put you off your guard, to deceive you, and to be used to profit the flatterer.

The ultimate butt-kisser is the sycophant, a person who insincerely gives obviously excessive submission to authority in return for the benefits of cozying up to those in power.

"A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet." Proverbs 29:5