There is nothing else in this life that’s quite so hurtful, insidious and wicked as the betrayal of someone who both loves and trusts you (or vice versa). Even if one were to do it to a sworn enemy, it is still FAR from righteous… and although one might try to justify one’s betrayal of an enemy, I personally know that God still HATES it, for betrayal not only crushes the victim’s spirit and leads them further into the pit, but actually manifestly agrees with the deathly darkness that is beyond its human slaves, unto the damnation of the unrepentant perpetrators.

‘Not me’, I can hear some saying…. but I say, don’t think for a second that ANY of us are innocent of this crime, for it is written that all of us have caroused with the devil in some way during our lives, and as the image shows, we turned our back on He who hangs on the cross in our place, as He still upholds His impeccable character in spite of our wickedness.
That cursed, painful dagger of the devil stabbing into our own unwitting backs was a main catalyst for many of us to realising our own treachery against the Lord, was it not? Many of us will remember that it was at rock bottom, in the midst of our own terrible suffering, that we recognised the steadfast love and unmatched loyalty of the Lord for us, in spite of the way we treat Him… right?
Even though we each have betrayed the Lord many times over during our lives, it’s in fear and trembling we now hope in His mercy and kindness towards His enemies (us), and therefore now likewise should show such behaviour towards others.
Yes, we should echo the flawless character of the Son of the most High God, for we as believers are expected to be as trustworthy and loyal as He is since each of our individual repentances, and yes, showing it even for our enemies (who we must ‘give food and drink to’ when they are the ones suffering). We must (of course) lend this grace ESPECIALLY to those who reciprocate friendship and who have established roots with us, in spite of any flaws and imperfections any of us might have, without fail.
It is written that love covers a multitude of sins… so it really should go without saying that we are loyal and trustworthy; yet real life in practice says otherwise, for there are many (even believers!) who would sell another out in order for their own personal gain. The arrival of the internet only seems to exemplify this horrific attitude, for people would rather be coldly and viciously ‘right’ about something (especially if it’s religious), than to lend a humble, God inspired helping hand in meekness, reaching out to the other in the grace and contentment in Christ.

What a world we live in…

We must all be ever so careful not to let the sinful flesh ever get in the way, where material prosperity or some other seemingly advantageous situation proves us to be as wicked as that so-called ‘disciple’ of Jesus Christ, Judas Iscariot. It may be that like him, we would choose something as fleeting as financial prosperity over the everlasting virtue of trust between ourselves and others, especially the Lord. Judas epitomised the wretched condition of humanity in this way, for he took matters into his own hands and forced the hand of God on his own terms. For just a pittance in silver, he sold out His Lord and Saviour with a kiss of greeting(!), and then responded later to his error by violently taking his own life (rather than repenting like the other betrayer, Peter, did), therefore sealing his damnation, just as his demonic tormentors wanted.

Although you might think otherwise, betrayal is easier to do than one might think. In fact, to the unregenerate person, it comes as naturally as breathing, for the root of it is selfishness, which itself is rooted in pride (all people have that, right?). Betrayal is the most extreme form of ‘looking after number one’, and those of us who know the Lord know that without Him working in our lives, we are all VERY selfish, and must continue to fight pride until the end of our lives. Anyone with small children will have seen this acted out within the innocence of humanity, for it is the inherent curse of Adam upon us right from the get go. This is the sinful nature we are born with, and we must recognise it in order to be able to fight it. We must all continually guard against it, for this particular evil spirit is just as rampant in our day as it ever was, and is perhaps even more prevalent now than in the days of old, for the modern world nurtures our evil desires like a cradled baby, oftentimes bringing out the monsters within us, seducing us into wickedness like birds caught in a trap. ‘Vanity Fair’ is designed by the ‘god of this world’ to prey upon our natural wicked yearnings, which is why most people will walk the broad road to destruction, for they cannot (nor will not) see how they walk into the traps that are set for them, unless they finally get spiritual clarity of insight from the Holy Spirit, and can discern the spirits for themselves, having now been ‘born again’.

The Lord Jesus Christ even predicts this particular spirit of betrayal devastating families and close friendships (Mat 10:21, Luke 21:16) in the end days before He returns. None of us are exempt from its influence, for we all wage war daily with our sinful natures, and many times still fail.
The ultimate betrayal can be with the Lord, where our lips say one thing (professing Christ), yet our actions say another (eating at the table with devils). It is shamefully possible for someone to confess they love God, yet disdain Him daily by remaining in wilful sinful practices without a shade of remorse, serving pleasure instead, with some even considering it a virtue to do so. Therefore, we must all examine ourselves regularly, for that image pictured could also be ‘the World’ smiling its mask back at us, approving of our wickedness (as it so often does), whilst in the madness of spiritual forgetfulness we have our backs to the cross, shaming the Son of God with our spiritual adultery.

This side of the grave, we will always be tested and refined by the Lord; it’s a given, for He promises to prune us in order for us to bear more fruit. It should be noted however that this process makes certain spirits manifest within us, so we must be vigilant not to allow them to do the works of iniquity they so want to do in us, as the Lord makes them surface in order to deal with them, so that we can recognise them, fight them and eventually cast them out.
It is wisdom to ask oneself over and over whether we really be in the faith, whether we really would die for Him, like He did for us (should it come to that, which it might well do). We must ask ourselves regularly whether we are really upholding the laws of the Spirit, manifesting the fruits that He graciously produces in us as a standard in our lives that must never drop. We must recognise when we fall and go astray from His ways that we have been, are, and always will be unworthy of knowing Him at all, which should produce genuine tears of godly repentance in us, as we grasp for a sliver of hope from within the darkness we fell into (and graciously receive it); for we should know that it is no small thing to sin against the Lord, and that holiness requires us to be ‘clean’, and that the only one who can do the cleaning is God Himself.

Tremble with me as you continue to work out your salvation, dear child of God; for He is to be feared above all else.

Image credit: Full of Eyes