Wow. What a response to my talk today in our series, “Messy Like Me!” I should have known that people would really resonate with the topic of betrayal. Because, let’s face it. All of us have had the bitter pill shoved down our throat.
One of my close buddies said to me on the way out today, “Dave, I’ve been listening to you for 12 years. And this is hands-down, the best!” Well, I appreciate my brother’s affirmation. I’ll take all I can get. I’m just as insecure as the next guy. But I also know that the content has something to do with it. Betrayal is something we experience and, let’s face it, almost none of us navigate very well.
So today we talked about three different kinds of betrayal that you suffer. We talked about the betrayal of friendship, covenants, and confidences. We talked about the power of betrayal in our lives if we deal with it negatively. It can truly devastate your life. But maybe the most important thing I said today was this: none of us have the power to choose or control what happens to us. Let that soak in. It’s not just a throw-away statement. You literally have no control over the things that happen to you.
If life weren’t for the broken, messy people, you’d have a little more control, but even then you’re not in control of the circumstances. But here’s the most important thing: you’re always in control of your responses. I wrote a whole book about it called, “The Power to Prevail.” It is the power to prevail: to choose, in the quitting moments, to make the right choice. We talked about what some of those choices are.
But one of the most important takeaways today is the fact that each one of us are called to relate to the betrayed. Not only are we betrayed, and sometimes, let’s face it the betrayer, we need to reach out. And we need to know the three things that the betrayed need: things like protection, perspective, and reconnection to purpose.
Why not comment here on my web site? Let me know how this talk really resonates with you. You know that the media for this is stored on TheGatheringNashville.com web site. But it also can be delivered to you automatically on iTunes.