Betrayal

What is betrayal? Ultimately it is when someone has been disloyal in some way, shape or form. Our pastor (we joined a church in Cuba to serve in until we understand where and what God wants us to do in the future), gave a Sunday school lesson on loyalty and disloyalty or betrayal. It was a good lesson. It helped me to see things in a new way and opened my eyes to times when I had been disloyal in the past that I didn't even realize. We can be disloyal to God, to our pastor, to our spouse, parents, kids, friends, boss and co-workers.

We can betray someone by not being there for them when they need us. A loyal person is there, they stand with them through hard times and good times. We can be disloyal by gossiping about people. We can be disloyal by making promises and then not keeping them. We can betray our spouse by talking negatively about them to others or to our kids. We can be disloyal to God by not going to church and listening when there, by not reading our Bible or praying or confessing our sins or by not witnessing to others about Jesus. We can be disloyal to God by not being involved at the church He wants us to serve Him in. This also makes us disloyal to our pastor. He may feel as though he is unable to motivate people, or as though there is a lack of love and respect for him. We are disloyal when we gripe and complain about our boss. We are disloyal when we talk about our co-workers or do not do our share of the work load.

Betrayal and disloyalty can take many forms and shapes. The ones already mentioned are what some would consider mild. Most people think of betrayal as when someone intentionally does something to harm another. One example is when a spouse has an affair. Another example would be when a friend spreads a secret around that was told in confidence or when one friend purposely leaves another friend out of a get together. However, the things mentioned earlier can be just as harmful. They can cause wounds to the heart and mind that will have lasting effects. Once a person has been betrayed or experienced someone being disloyal to them; it makes it hard for them to trust others. Walls of self-protection go up. Relationships are forever changed and future relationships are also effected.

When trust is broken it takes a long time to rebuild. ...Except with God. When we confess our sins then they are as far as the east is from the west, buried in the depths of the sea never to be remembered again. When we take any step towards God, He is ready and willing to move closer to us. The Bible tells us to draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. James 4:8

Maybe this post will help you to realize that there have been times you were disloyal to someone. Maybe you didn't intend that to be the case but you still were. You can apologize and make it right and do your best to not let it happen again.

Just something to ponder.