When is it too early to talk about betrayal? Do we have to wait until after supper?
Still open? Trust that I am not trying to close the door on any extended invitations but we have been on a getting to know one another basis for almost two months now and I am not one to wait until all the guests have had their fill to bring out what’s best for all at the table. So, let me just say; I keep trying to put this behind me but from where I am sitting betrayal is not a thing of the past.
The question of the day; when I know I have let go of what I lost and I have put the circumstantial evidence of how it was lost in its place (the past) why does the betrayal remain? Is the one who betrayed me still seated at the table or worse… on the throne of my heart?
Break it down…Who betrayed who?
“I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart” as Michael Corleone plainly put it in the movie “The Godfather”….
….It was not God, The Father
We all want love that is true, right? The first step to discovering the truth about love is to reveal who the liar is. When dealing with betrayal the concern most of us immediately address in our mind is “who done it.”
When someone has done me wrong I want to pin point where the fault lies so I can put more than my finger on them. (cough-cough) When I discover who did the dirty deed, with an extended index finger I bring it to my attention to make sure I don’t forget. However, when pointing out the fault of another, there are three other fingers pointing right back at me.
Know this…
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9
As a result, I feel exposed, busted and disgusted with the thought that the real culprit is me. The questions that follow go something like this. “How could I be so naive? Where did I go wrong?” and finally, “What did I do to deserve this?” The last question made the list by popular demand.
When wanting to learn more about love, questions are good, but the most important question of them all (I’ve had to ask myself) “Who are you asking?” When inquiring within… who am I expecting to get the answer from… me or Him?
Let me just put it all out on the table.
True story… if you’ve already had the misfortune of experiencing betrayal, like I have… it’s near impossible to reverse it. Whether you were betrayed by yourself or by another, it will be constantly in the rear view. Anytime you reflect, it’s right there to skew your view of love for yourself, others and God in the future. So how do we see past it? We have to remember two things: Who prepared the table we sit at and where they are seated.
Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart…”
Knowing someone is capable of betrayal is inescapable, each and every one of us is. Our own hearts tell us we can never trust ourselves again, much less anyone else. It’s a lie meant to decieve us into believing there is no hope. What I am trying to get the answer to is….how do we protect ourselves from the enemy that lies… if already inside the gates? Here is the whole truth…
Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know…
Getting back to the bread about to be broken… God knows what is about to be served. If we are able to recognize that we need to feast on what he has for us alone… He can handle everything else, liars and thieves will get their just dessert!
Just trust who is on the throne of your heart. Jesus, the chosen gatekeeper, is seated at the table with us… right in the place we have given Him. He knows us and our guests better than anyone. No need to worry. If you have invited Him… there is no second guessing!
My whole plate 