Betrayal

The saddest thing about betrayal is that it does not come from our enemies but from our friends. People whom we have trusted so much have once turned their backs on us and that left us in pain and some of us even swore never to make friends again. David highlighted this concept in Psalms 41:9 stating, 'Even my closest friend whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me'. Betrayal is hurtful. Painful. Shakes our emotional state. We end up having trust issues. 

Why is betrayal painful? Its because we trusted people so much forgetting that humans can change anytime and any season. In Jeremiah 17:5-8, God warns us against putting our trust in mankind and it can be argued that at times betrayal is God sent. God opens our eyes; making us see the true colours of those we once called friends and even our own relatives. We easily forget that the only person whom we can truly trust is ourselves and our Maker.

Our best friends have snatched our spouses. Some shared our deepest secrets. Our relatives have used selfish means to take what is rightful ours. Colleagues at work bad-mouthed us to our bosses so that we don't get promoted. Betrayal everywhere. Every corner. Ever direction. We are almost left to believe that its part and parcel of our lives. But it's not. However, how people choose to treat and handle our trust is totally dependent on them and there's little we can actually do. Remember, even Jesus was betrayed by one of His disciples. Denied. And even when He rose, He was doubted.

But what lessons do we learn once our trust is broken? One, we need to be mindful of how we make friends; being cautious of those we allow within our circle. Not every Tom Dick and Harry needs to be our friend. We need to understand that the goal is not the number of friends one has but the kind of friends one has; quality over quantity. Two, we should learn to let God fight for us when the world is against us. Deceitful information can be shared by our traitors just to taint our image but fighting for ourselves in search situations is not really worth it nor is it the right thing to do. Remember, silence is the best weapon. Therefore, while in silence we ought to trust God; be reminded that even when everyone departs from us He will never forsake us; Psalms 27:10.  God fights for us and He brings the truth to light, Exodus 14:14, and all who detested us will be put to shame.

We have all been betrayed at some point in our lives. These situations have left us hurt but above all, we may have learnt valuable lessons. Seen the true colours of those who were once close to us. And we became wiser; knowing whom to allow in our inner circle and what information we confide in our friends.