For The Right Price

 Introduction:

Welcome my friend,

I know that you've probably heard that story about the man that wasn't really popular amongst the upper religious class and the government so that they came together and took him out.

To do that, they identified a wink link in his inner circle and got him to sell out his master for a fee; in a deep act of betrayal where he directly handed him to his enemies.

This is an excerpt from our Easter story and while we're not there yet until next weekend, today's conversation is an introduction into our designated theme for it.

Which means that in the words and lines that follow, we’re going to examine why loyalty is so fickle and rare, and how every person ultimately has their own different price.

Let's quickly get on with it.

Discussion:

Loyalty is the mutual trust people share, believing that they have each other's best interests at heart: supporting, protecting, covering up for and defending each other even behind their respective backs.

Which is why it cuts so deep to realize that the person you'd lovingly take a bullet for is the one holding the gun pointed straight at your head.

Yet it happens all the time, because people behave differently once the right incentives come into play, putting their own personal gains first.

This is how betrayal occurs and today we're going to use some characters in our feature story to expose how loyalty gets tested under varying circumstances, and for different prices, ultimately causing it to falter for the right price.

■ Examining Two Core Motives For Betrayal 

For the man who sold out his master, he did so because he believed the money offered was worth the betrayal.

So he willingly went ahead, hurriedly delivering him into their hands.

The truth is, many people are no different from this man and would do the same to their own friends, family, colleagues, or even organizations; selling them out for the right price.

Indeed, many people are so shallow that they place material gains above personal bonds.

So they just go on to do whatever fattens their wallet, puts food on their table, elevates their position, or gets them ahead, even if it comes at the expense of the very person who has protected their own interests.

Therefore, if we're not this kind of person, it is important to be very discerning about who we allow close to us; understanding where their true value lies.

Otherwise, they'd eagerly give us up to satisfy their own needs, while we blindly trust them, sometimes even equipping them with the information or resources that make their disloyalty easier.

We've seen this happen far too often.

The second core motive behind betrayal is fear.

We see this clearly in situations where everyone stays silent or even denies an innocent person who is being accused, simply because they're afraid of the consequences of being associated with them.

Yet, this makes such people as complicit as their other accusers, regardless of their lack of direct involvement.

This shows evidently in our feature story as we continue with it.

On three (3) separate occasions before dawn, another member of this man's inner circle had denied him, making him the second one of them to betray him in quick succession albeit differently.

In his case, for every time he was recognized as one of his associates, he blatantly denied him; thus, passing up three opportunities to vouch for him, all while knowing that he's nothing like what they were making him to be.

This demonstrates the fact that people's loyalty ends at the point where it may inconvenience or cost them something, so they readily give up the very person they swore to protect.

This is why we shouldn't simply believe people’s words or reassurances until we have seen how they act towards us at our lowest moments.

That is the real test.

From all this, we can conclude that the two major motives for betrayal are what we stand to gain and what we're unwilling to lose.

Making most of us susceptible to betrayal, if we find ourselves in the kind of circumstance, that's perfectly fitted to test us.

■ Understanding The Character Of Each Betrayer

When we shed more light on the personalities of each member of this inner circle who betrayed their master, we see that their characters are very distinct.

While the one who sold him for a token sum was the treasurer and the group’s money keeper, who had also been stealing some of their funds for his personal use, the one who blatantly denied him was like his chief of staff.

He was the one who stood closely with him, coordinated the entire group, and led by example.

Yet, under aligning circumstances, they both crumbled, revealing their disloyalty.

Here, each person was tested differently: one by his weakness and the other by his strength.

For the first person, the same dishonest character around money that led him to steal from the collective purse is what also drove him to sell out his master.

…and for the second person the same integrity and excellence that made him stand out became the very reason that in those three instances, he didn't want his reputation to be tarnished by associating it with that of his master.

Different personalities, the same outcome.

Which only shows us that anyone has the capacity to be disloyal.

Therefore, the same grace we expect from others when we falter, we should also be willing to extend to them, when they genuinely show remorse for their actions.

■ Reconciling After Betrayal 

While a person's character might not prevent them from betraying another person, it can at least pave the way for better reconciliation; so that the bond between folks is further strengthened by the experience; even becoming unbreakable.

To continue our story, when both men realized they had betrayed their master, they felt deep regret and were fully remorseful for their actions.

However, while the first man responded by hanging himself, the second one rallied the other members of the group together to continue the work their master had left behind.

So while one person allowed a single bad mistake to destroy his entire life, the other found a way to rise above it, eventually becoming a significant part of the group’s continued growth.

What this shows us is that remorse without accountability is merely self criticism.

Its guilt only eats us up from within, causing us to punish ourselves more harshly than necessary because we feel it is a deserving way to make up for our wrongdoings.

Yet this is not the best way to respond.

We can forgive ourselves, let go of self pity, and give ourselves the chance to rise again, learning from our mistakes.

Summary:

A week before Good Friday, we've pointed out a few lessons from our Easter Story.

Hopefully, you'll still be a part of it next week when we finally wrap up today's introduction.

See you.

Master Apprentice.

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