March 11, Betrayal

Today’s reading: Psalms 51-55

“If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers” - Psalm 55:12-14.

It is a painful experience for a friend to betray you. It is what I call a Star Trek that happens when your shields are down and you aren’t expecting an attack. Once it happens you can wrestle with issues of unforgiveness for a long time, sometimes having to forgive the person over and over again. When you have to repeat the process, it doesn’t mean your last attempt failed. It simply means that you must go deeper and deeper in your heart to weed out the hurt and bitterness. Having felt the pain of betrayal, however, should be an incentive for you to never do what someone else did to you. If you do or if they perceive that you did, then you must forgive them or seek their forgiveness: “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times’” (Matthew 18:21-22). Do you need to forgive a former friend who betrayed you? Have you been the betrayer and need to seek out your former friend to ask forgiveness? Where can you bring some much-needed reconciliation today?

 

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