Scripture: Luke 22:4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.
Devotional: We must understand that the flip side of loyalty is disloyalty. There is not a lot of grey space between the two. And just as the Bible has story after story of loyalty, it also gives us a pretty clear picture of disloyalty.
Judas, one of the apostles who was traveling with Jesus, is an example of this. Jesus was wanted by the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They wanted to do away with him. So, Judas went to them and made a plan to betray Jesus in exchange for money. He betrayed one of his dearest friends out of selfish ambition and for his own gain.
It can be easy to look at this story and point out Judas’ faults. However, if we sat with this story long enough, we could likely identify ourselves in it. We would find times in our lives where we have not lived out our faith for fear of what it might look like to others. We may not be using a spiritual gift that God gave us because it is contradictory to how the world thinks we should live. We may have wronged a coworker to climb the ladder at work. Whatever it may be for you, you likely have been in Judas’ position before.
This is a good example of disloyalty and just how ugly it can be. But let me also remind you that Jesus is full of grace. These times of disloyalty do not need to define you. You can give them over to God and pray that He will help you to do better in the future, knowing you are forgiven. “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him” (Daniel 9:9).
Reflect:
- What areas do you need to ask God for His forgiveness for being disloyal?
- Give those over to Him, pray that He will help you to do better the next time you are faced with a similar situation, and praise Him for His forgiveness every day.