Betrayal
By David A. Wheeler
As leaders, we sometimes face the hurt and pain of
betrayal. Betrayal is expressions of
disloyalty, unfaithfulness, treachery, and duplicity. For those in leadership, these actions can be
devastating and debilitating to our ability to minister. Often these actions of betrayal are
performed by those closest to us in leadership.
Let's read the story of the “The Prodigal Son”
in Luke 15.
Luke 15:11-32 (Amplified):11And He said, There was a certain man who had two sons;
12And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the part of the property that falls [to me]. And he divided the estate between them.(A)13And not many days after that, the younger son gathered up all that he had and journeyed into a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and loose [from restraint] living.
14And when he had spent all he had, a [a]mighty famine came upon that country, and he began to fall behind and be in want.
15So he went and forced (glued) himself upon one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed hogs.
16And he would gladly have fed on and [b]filled his belly with the [c]carob pods that the hogs were eating, but [they could not satisfy his hunger and] nobody gave him anything [better].(B)
17Then when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have enough food, and [even food] to spare, but I am perishing (dying) here of hunger!
18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.
19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] make me like one of your hired servants.
20So he got up and came to his [own] father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity and tenderness [for him]; and he ran and embraced him and kissed him [[d]fervently].
21And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son [I no longer deserve to be recognized as a son of yours]!
22But the father said to his bond servants, Bring quickly the best robe (the festive robe of honor) and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet.(C)
23And bring out [e]that [wheat-]fattened calf and kill it; and let us [f]revel and feast and be happy and make merry,
24Because this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to [g]revel and feast and make merry.
25But his older son was in the field; and as he returned and came near the house, he heard music and dancing.
26And having called one of the servant [boys] to him, he began to ask what this meant.
27And he said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed [h]that [wheat-]fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and well.
28But [the elder brother] was angry [with deep-seated wrath] and resolved not to go in. Then his father came out and began to plead with him,
29But he answered his father, Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me [so much as] a [little] kid, that I might [i]revel and feast and be happy and make merry with my friends;
30But when this son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you have killed for him [j]that [wheat-] fattened calf!
31And the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
32But it was fitting to make merry, to [k]revel and feast and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!
The actions of the Father
give us clear direction as to how we are to deal with betrayal. The word “prodigal” means wasteful, reckless
and dissolute. He is openly betraying
his family name and inheritance. As we
examine his father’s reaction, we see that those who openly betray us are
sometimes the easiest to forgive and celebrate when relationship is
restored. This restoration of heart and
relationship can only happen when the betrayer returns with a repentive heart.
We usually do pretty well in handling betrayal from those
who are open about it, but we often find ourselves deeply challenged when the
betrayer is someone really close to us or part of the ministry leadership
team. These challenges test the very
core of who we are as Christians and can expose the flaws in our walk with
Christ. Our response to this test can
lead us to take offense.
When we examine the story of “The Prodigal Son” a little
closer, we can discover the betrayal of the Prodigal’s brother. He was someone who was in the presence of
the father every day. He tended to the
needs of the father and his household.
He made sure that the crop was harvested, the servants were given
direction, and the day to day needs of the estate were met. Yet, he had not captured the father’s heart.
One of our expectations for those closest to us is that they
understand our heart and vision for the ministry, especially when someone
returns with a repentive heart and we extend acceptance. Sometimes people are close to us because of
what they can get out of us (notoriety, fame, position, possessions, and etc.),
instead of what they should get from us (personal growth, the growth of others
and the furtherance of the Kingdom).
When we face betrayal from one of those who are close to us
we must follow the example of the Prodigal father. When he learned of the prodigal brother’s
reaction, the father went to him and addressed it with him. This is an example of Matthew 18’s teaching
of how we deal with issues between Christians.
The timing is critical in that there was an immediate response from the
father to his son. The longer we delay
in dealing with betrayal the larger the opportunity for an offense to develop
and destroy relationship. The prodigal
father took this opportunity to train and redirect by sharing his heart and
vision to the older brother.
The force of betrayal left unchallenged will often affect
our ability to govern the vision and keep the whole ministry team focused on
accomplishing what God has set before you.
Betrayal is a tactic of the enemy to take us off course and direct our focus
on the betrayer and the offense. Our job
as leaders is to recognize and address this issue quickly.
