Betrayal is a violation of personal trust and moral code. It’s a harsh reality when we have realized someone has betrayed us. Actually, I find it beyond hurtful and bordering cruelty. Honestly, there is nothing that closes off my heart to someone more than to find out they have betrayed me. I think the world is hard enough to willfully allow someone’s betrayal to be overlooked. Forgiveness is a divine power we offer to all of those who have harmed us either willfully or not. Forgiving is a powerful act on our part but does not have to involve the one who has betrayed us the liberty to do so again. It is completely alright to disallow certain individuals into our lives for whatever reason we need. The protection of our private space is important.
Betrayal is not just an act of trust violation from others toward us, but can also be something we do to ourselves. Betraying our own moral code and values happens when we either go against them knowingly or allow others to do so. Personally, I like to give some people space for human error and also the ability for individuals to apologize to me. Within that space, is the action of forgiving ourselves as well. Forgiveness is a powerful act of grace and release of anyone’s actions, even our own.
One of the moral codes expressed by well-known author Caroline Myss is “Don’t betray yourself or others.” I think this is very good advice. A good exercise is to personally decide what our boundaries are and what our moral codes are. Once we are clear on them, don’t violate them or allow others to violate them. If it does happen, forgive, let go, and move on. Learning to live a life worthy of our own standards is important. To even know we need standards is the first step toward drawing a great deal of integrity into our lives. A good practice is to not open up too much to new people until they have earned our trust. Opening up happens over time and it is perfectly fine to discuss what we do allow and what we do not. Having hard and deep discussions is a part of being a mature adult. It is a part of friendship, love relationships, family relationships, and work relationships. A good practice is to remember to not spill out the most precious inner workings of our hearts to just anyone at any time. Sometimes those things are between ourselves and God.
On the positive end, finding a person we can truly trust is a huge gift. When you find those gifted people, keep them around! They are a rare treasure, so be grateful!
Loving you from here,
Dr. Rev. Jenine Marie Howry
Life Lessons by Jenine Marie 
I believe betraying someone is both emotional abuses for one’s self and others.
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