When Friends CheatNäide

When Friends Cheat

One of the hardest times to be a good friend is when your friend cheats (or is cheated on). When adultery happens by or to someone you love, it’s hard to know what to do. What do you do when she is furious or numb or done, obsessed with what must be wrong with her or unwilling to admit that anything is wrong with her? What do you say when he is so ashamed or not ashamed enough, when he is sick with guilt or when he’s sick of talking about the same things over and over and over? What do you do when friends and family are picking sides, pointing fingers, sharing gossip, or stepping back altogether? Statistically, sooner or later, adultery will happen in your family, your church, or among your friends. So what does being a Christian look like in those moments?

Here’s a simple answer to that very complex question. When friends cheat, give them grace and truth. Give them. Both of them. Him and her. The betrayer and the betrayed. Grace and truth. And. Not one or the other but both. That’s what you do. That’s how you take God’s side and help them rebuild, to the best of your ability, a happy, holy home. Jesus was described as a Savior who came from the Father “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

What does that look like in real life? Let’s answer that essential question in the upcoming devotions.