The Betrayer

Even my friend in whom I trusted, one who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. - Psalm 41:10

In this Psalm, David spoke of betrayal (with a clear messianic reference). Yet, I wonder, who was David's greatest traitor? Was it Absalom (his son), Ahithophel (his counselor), or Joab (his commander)? Was it a person at all? The prophet Jeremiah wrote, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" Perhaps in all his life, David's greatest traitor wasn't a person. Maybe, it was his own heart.

As with David, when a person's heart becomes engaged with the things of this world rather than the things of God, their heart becomes their own worst enemy. When David should have been thinking of God, he was thinking of Bathsheba. Ultimately, his heart betrayed him and became his enemy.

Currently, your heart may be your friend or your foe. Guard it. In fact, make it a lockbox for God's truth and you might just remove the possibility of destructive betrayal (Psalm 119:11).

Temptation is the fire that brings up the scum of the heart. - William Shakespeare