BETRAYAL--AN ACT OF EVIL INTENT
I trusted them, but then they suddenly stabbed me in the back. Why? What did I do?
We use the words betray and betrayal in our normal conversations with a general understanding as to their meanings. Let’s take a moment to break it down for a further definition of understanding. The following comes from; dictionary.com
Definition of betray
Verb (used with object)
To deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty: Benedict Arnold betrayed his country.
To be unfaithful in guarding, maintaining, or fulfilling: to betray a trust.
To disappoint the hopes or expectations of; be disloyal to: to betray one's friends.
To reveal or disclose in violation of confidence: to betray a secret.
To reveal unconsciously (something one would preferably conceal): Her nervousness betrays her insecurity.
Betrayal as a Noun: The acts of the above listed.
Origin—The word betrayal comes from 1540s. It is based on the word betray, which comes from the Latin “tradere” meaning to ”hand over”. The noun traitor also comes from this verb.
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To me, it simply means to break an allegiance, oath or covenant whether it is written, verbal or implied.
I would suppose that most, if not all of us have experienced some sort of betrayal in our lives at some point. It is heartbreaking. A trust is broken, relationships are shattered, liars exposed. Who suffers the most?— The unsuspecting recipients of the act of betrayal.
I’m not a psychologist but I have broken the term of betrayer down to a simplistic form that works for me and that is; The Betrayer—”I think more of myself and what I want more than I value you, regardless of any promises or oaths I’ve made or implied. I’m self-centered and selfish, looking out for my own benefit.”
Initially, when we have been betrayed it can affect our perspective of our own value. It can affect our self-esteem. It can make us feel worthless. It can make us an emotional train wreck and rightfully so because we are emotional beings. Initially. But long term, it doesn’t have to be that way. We have the ability and power and resources to change how we think and feel about ourselves and get back on track. We just need to put the idea of betrayal into perspective and context.
To put the word, betray into context, we must recognize that it is a verb, and verbs are action words. For someone to engage in an action, in this case, betray, it requires a decision to act, to make a choice. Then the word betrayal comes into being when the choice to betray is carried out in action by the betrayer. So, betrayal is a choice made by another to satisfy their own selfishness, ego, pride, envy, greed, lust, power and perhaps other reasons. It has nothing to do with the value or worthiness of the one (ones) on the receiving end, that who, unfortunately now have to deal with the direct and indirect consequences brought on by the betrayer. It can be a rough road to travel without good navigational help but is quite possible.
I’ll share a part of my story with you here regarding being betrayed.
Back in the mid 1980s I was married to a woman, I’ll call her Sally, and we had been married a couple of years. She liked to go out on the weekends and party at the clubs and such. I didn’t particularly enjoy it but went with her anyway since we were married. She liked to drink a lot as well.
On one occasion we had gone out to a local hot spot and her brother his girlfriend was also there. The drinks were flowing into her, and the dance floor was body to body crowded and she was out dancing with some of her girlfriends. I remember seeing a guy in a cowboy hat that was dancing close to her but didn’t think much of it as it was crowded, the music was loud, and the lights were low.
After a couple of songs, she hadn’t come back yet and I was looking for her in the crowd, but she was nowhere to be found. Well, maybe she went to the restroom. More time passed and she still had not returned. I asked her brother if he had seen her and he said, “I don’t know how to tell you this, but she left with the guy that she was dancing with and told me to tell you not to wait for her. She’s not coming back.” It turned out to be pre-meditated betrayal.
I sat in my car in the parking garage until 4:30 a m hoping and praying she would come back. But she didn’t. I went home by myself. I had been betrayed. Devastated and heartbroken. The buckets of tears were my only companions.
There is more to the story, and it only gets worse, but I’ll leave it here for now. I started the whole, “It must be my fault scenario in my mind. What did I do? What should I have done? What could I have done to prevent this? I must be a terrible person. I must be worthless. This went on for some time before I came to my senses.
I am a fighter and every time I get knocked down, I get back up to fight some more. I started applying my God given ability to reason, along with his help, to be logical and practical, analytical, to put the things of life into perspective, to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She was not kidnapped or taken by for force or coercion. She had made a choice and acted on it. She owned the betrayal for whatever reason she may have had. I am not responsible or accountable for the choices that someone else makes. That realization dissolved the burden of questions I was carrying.
The most famous story of betrayal is the betrayal of Jesus, by Judas Iscariot. The Bible tells us that Judas even betrayed him with a kiss. Luke 22:48, but Jesus asked, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
We know from Biblical accounts that the kiss was a pre-arranged signal to identify Jesus. It was still nighttime, and they had only lanterns for light so it would be necessary for identification. Another thing I find notable is the faux kiss of adoration. Judas had been with Jesus for circa three years. He heard his teachings, saw the miracles, witnessed the crowds and yet he took payment from the Pharisees to betray Jesus. The reasons he did so are many and speculative. The point here is that he made a choice and acted on it. After all that time with Jesus, he decided to stab him in the back. After all the time and investment that Jesus gave to Judas, he still betrayed him. In this world there are givers and takers. Judas was a taker. Note to self—Watch out for the takers. Especially the ones close to you.
We know the Judas account is part of God’s plan to save the world through faith in Jesus and forgiveness of sins which leads to eternal life with the Lord, however, the point here is Judas made a choice to betray and then he made a choice to kill himself. Choices matter.
We have been looking into personal betrayals up to this point, and they are many, but now let’s take a look at national betrayal.
We’ve all heard the name, Benedict Arnold, whose name is now in infamy and is synonymous with betrayal and traitor. He was an American General in the War of Independence and had won many battles. By the end of the war, he had switched sides to join the British as a commander fighting against his former American forces. He offered West Point to the British for 20,000 pounds and began to weaken the fort’s defenses on the Hudson River. Unfortunately, he escaped to England and did not suffer the traitor’s reward of a rope around the neck or the firing squad.
What does the phrase Judas Goat mean anyway?
A Judas goat is a trained goat used at a slaughterhouse and in general animal herding. The Judas goat is trained to associate with sheep or cattle, leading them to a specific destination. In stockyards, a Judas goat will lead sheep to slaughter, while its own life is spared. Judas goats are also used to lead other animals to specific pens and on to trucks. urbandictionary.com Does this sound familiar to you?
We see that someone who is called a Judas Goat is someone leading people (like passively following sheep) to a slaughter, or to lead them astray. There needs to be a great awareness of who these people are and to warn others of their evil intent. Is there anyone in your life trying to lead you away to something you do not believe in your heart? It’s a good idea to take an inventory of who the influencers are in your life. There are many people who are out there who are leading folks down the wrong or untruthful path for their personal gain. How do we measure that? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be careful who you follow.
In my opinion, anyone who is not standing with the Constitution of the United States, as written, which governs our Republic, standing for liberty and freedom is someone to be wary of. Perhaps a betrayer or traitor in disguise? We know they are out there. Anyone who disrespects our flag is against our nation. Our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, created by, and given to us by God himself for the purpose of being a shining light for the world to see God’s love, mercy and benevolence towards billions of people to lead them into eternal life through Jesus and to have freedom and liberty.
In the heading above, BETRAYAL—AN ACT OF EVIL, is just that. Evil. Evil is selfish and self-centered with no moral compass or concern.
We all know there is good and evil. So how does betrayal equate to evil? To find that answer comprehensibly we must use a juxtaposition method, meaning placing two contrasting thoughts side by side for comparison. Picture a split screen on your computer for example. That would be similar. I tried to create an insert form, but I cannot get it to load. Sorry, I am not that techy. See the format described below.
We could list out in double columns side by side for comparison. On one column we could list the attributes of God. Such as Holy, Righteous, Love, Light, Life and in the other column the effects of evil. Such as Anti-God, unholy, unrighteous, hate, darkness, death. And so on.
Now, if we did the same thing using Patriots and Betrayers as our column headings and list those characteristics out and who you think they might be, then we could compare those thoughts to people’s actions. We could perhaps gain a clearer picture of what we think of the folks we are looking into.
Then there is another comparison that could be done. We could take the God’s attributes column and compare them to the Patriots column and see how they align. And take also the Evil column and compare it to the Betrayer column and notice the similarities.
By doing this exercise, we should be able to formulate a more concise opinion as to the particular stance of individuals.
There are active betrayers in governments, organizations, churches, school systems, etc. The list could go on and on. We must be ever mindful of those within our communities, states and nation in regard to being Patriots or Betrayers.
If you have been betrayed, there is hope for a broken heart, a broken trust, a shattered relationship or a lie told about you. There are necessary steps to go through and accept to be free from its hold on you.
First, realize that it was someone else’s choice to betray you. Regardless of what you did or did not do. That person is responsible for the choice they made, not you. Second, if there is a loss as in a relationship, give yourself some time to grieve and mourn. It is not healthy to try to rush through it. Third, you will reach the point of acceptance and move forward with your life. Fourth, forgive. This is the hardest step for many folks. Especially since our human makeup calls for vengeance or justice. Forgiveness is the most freeing step you can take. We cannot let the acts against us control us. We cannot be held captive by its reality. It will steal your life from you. If there is justice to mete out, the Lord can handle it. Fifth, give all of the above to God first and he will help you through it and get you back on track, to live the life that he wants you to have, accomplishing great things.
1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your cares on him, because he cares for you.”
Thank you for reading and may God bless you richly and give you the desires of your heart.
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Beautiful Gary. I think all of us at some point have been betrayed. It’s what we learn from that betrayal that should callous us from ever happening again. Forgiveness is part of that for sure.
Thank you Gary, you are a true minister of His Word. I always enjoy reading what you write. I learn something new with every article. May God continue to bless and protect you in this evil world we are living in.