How To Handle People Who Betray You

Betrayal is an inversion of love, and perhaps its greatest perversion. What, then, to do with a traitor? What he will not do for you.

The Federalist  . . . "What should our response be, then, when we’re betrayed? How do we keep from allowing the pain to rob us of our ability to love and to trust? The only answer, I believe, is to forgive. Even if the traitor doesn’t ask for our forgiveness, it is the greatest gift we can give ourselves: “Mercy is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that receives.” If we don’t show mercy and forgiveness, bitterness can take hold, and we’ll risk losing our capacity to love.

"One of the most beautiful scenes in literature is when Aslan forgives Edmund. Trembling with shame and still unaware of the extent of his crime and the damage he had done, Edmund humbled himself before his family. They forgave him, and most importantly, Aslan forgave him. Then, in the ultimate act of love, Aslan went alone to the Stone Table, where he died a terrible death to pay for Edmund’s crime of treachery.

“ 'There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” John writes. Do you see how this is the opposite of betrayal? This is what love looks like. This is how you treat a friend. It’s putting another’s life and needs before yourself, your own pride, your own petty jealousies, and even your own fears." . . .