The Bitterness of Betrayal

“And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.”

(Lk. 21 16)

Is there any greater hurt than the deep hurt that comes from the betrayal of family or friends? This hurt above all others is the hardest to withstand. It is said of darling David, and prophetically of our blessed Lord concerning His betrayal by His friend Judas, “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company” (Psa. 55:12-14). Betrayal is the last of all hurts to heal, and it lasts long after all the others have healed.

Let me list just a few in the scripture who knew this horrible hurt of heart, resulting from betrayal. It was Joseph’s brothers who turned on him; both David and Job experienced the bitterness of family and friends’ disloyalty; the blind man’s parents didn’t stand by him when they were needed most; and of Jesus we’re told, “... He was wounded in the house of His friends” (Zach. 13:6). But in each case God stood with His misunderstood, misrepresented, and mistreated child. My wife, Salle Jo, used to sing a song at the ordination of young preachers I would ordain in our church. It applies to any and all saints. The following is one of the verses out of the five from that blessed song.

“In the midst of faults and failures,

Stand by me (stand by me);

In the midst of faults and failures,

Stand by me (stand by me);

When I do the best I can,

And my friends misunderstand,

Thou Who knowest all about me,

Stand by me (stand by me).”