Betrayal is worse than gossip. Someone who gossips may not necessarily be wanting or trying to hurt the subject; but a betrayer knowingly shares information in a breach of confidence. They violate the trust someone has placed in them. Judas was in a position to betray Jesus with very little effort because he was familiar with Him, His schedule, and His habits. The Bible says, ‘Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples’ (John 18:2 NIV). Judas used his inside knowledge of Jesus’ tendencies to hurt Him. If we’ve ever betrayed a confidence, it’s important that we bring our actions to God and confess to Him, even if it happened years ago. We should consider our motives: Why did we do it? What was the reward? Did we gain some advantage over the person we betrayed? Did we want to gain favour from those we shared the secret with? Were we envious or resentful at the time? Was there an unresolved conflict that led us to do it? We should lay all the circumstances before God and seek forgiveness. On the other hand, what if someone has betrayed our confidence? If so, we need to think: What valuable lesson did we learn from it? Have we freed the offender in our heart, and no longer want revenge? If not, we’re still bound to them and they’re controlling part of our mind. We need to share our feelings with God, and then leave the situation and the other person in His hands.

What Now?

Have you ever shared something that someone told you in confidence? Have a think through the questions in today’s reading, and then take some time to confess to God.