Is it okay to always Dine on a table full of Judas’ to walk in love as a believer? I’d love to hear back from the readers on this. What does the notion of walking in love mean to you in the area of who you let in your inner circle. As I had to change up the notion of what it means to walk in love to me. Does walking in love mean it should be detrimental to our relationship with God? Does walking in love mean our faith is affected?
I feel as a Christian, as well as walking in love with other people we need to ensure we are walking in love with our self. In determining who we allow in to our inner circle we need to ensure that this person does not become a hindrance to our growth in quest for walking in love. We don’t want to preach to others and we ourself become a cast away because we lack wisdom
Is it okay to form your inner circle full to the brim of people who are ready to sell you for a bag of silver at any given opportunity? Im not soo sure……
Let me elaborate my view
Acts 28:1-6
28 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
What I want to take from this is that it would have been foolish for Paul to see the snake full of venom biting him and he leave it on- to walk in love with a creature that could potentially kill him. Now I believe we can refer this to everyday life – WHAT IS KILLING YOU THAT YOU STAY ENTERTAINING AND ALLOWING TO TAKE BITES OUT OF YOU, ALL IN THE NAME OF WALKING IN LOVE. Though this blog is specifically relating to the company we keep, this specific scripture can be related to every area of life
Paul shook that snake into the fire he didn’t leave it there biting him and releasing venom into his bloodstream because he realised that his death might be certain if that snake stayed attached. He had to shake it off into the fire.
Paul realised the mission of that snake was for his detriment. Paul realised that the longer that snake stayed attached the less likely he would survive. Paul understood that though he was a man of God he did not have to prove that by allowing the snake to stay attached to him.
In John 13 we see
Jesus only dined with one Judas on his table so why do we feel as believers we need to Entertain many Judas’ in our inner circle. Some of these people are stunting our personal growth and vision. Some of who are removing our peace.
I believe in loving from a distance. I feel that one has to be guarded about who we allow into our inner circle. We have to be guarded about whose voice is constantly speaking around us. I say to myself sometimes ‘ Judas spot on my table is taken so there is no room for another one’ . Not to say we only allow ‘perfection’ around us but to deem it necessary to pray about who we allow around us to speak into us and to be aware of what fruit they constantly bear or encourage us to bear
I use the term Judas to describe anything that could be a hindrance to you
I remember a male friend of mine who was ‘assisting’ a female friend of his. She would constantly come over to his house to stay but each time she did they would fall into sexual sin. They were not in a relationship and had no intention of getting into one but had cultivated a ‘friends with benefits’ situation and those benefits went a lot further than shelter. He would call me downcast after each incident but my advice to him was to ask her to stop coming and go else where….I thought that was the easiest solution. He felt he was walking in love by allowing her to come- he was- however when it became detrimental to His relationship with God it was time to find a new solution. He could have assisted her in other ways without it being a detriment to his salvation…or hers aswell.
Another thing I see from this story of Jesus and Judas, is Jesus could identify Judas. He wasn’t confused about who Judas was. John 13:26 shows Jesus knew fully well who Judas was. If you are going to dine with Judas make sure you can identify him. I believe we have to understand who we have around us. Jesus could point to Who His betrayer was. He knew Him perfectly well. Know the character of those who you choose to keep around you and ‘dine with’. If you are going to keep them close know their flaws. Know okay ‘sally is a gossip so my personal information is not safe with her’, ‘Sally is smiling with me but really Sally cant stand me and insults me at any given opportunity when Im not there’ ‘Sally can not stand me but only comes over because I am a good cook and she is looking for free food’ lol , Lets not assume Sally is our best friend, cook for her but not pour out your deepest desire to her.
Jesus actually had an inner circle we see in Matthew 17 when He was to go on to the Mount of Transfiguration, He did not ask all the disciples to come He called 3- Peter, James and John. Who are your inner circle when you are ready to go ‘up the mountain’ to encounter a fresh revelation from God. On a construction site when something is getting built- they dont let the general public in. a building site is off limits to the general public as the builders know the general public is not skilled in the building and the site could be a detriment to them. The delicate building of the foundation might also be affected if untrained people being to interfere with the work men. As God is trying to build us up we must only allow builders on to the delicate site. We can not allow general public who may not understand what tools to use to build.
The bible says ‘Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33. So if your character is getting corrupted then that determines the level of the company.
I’m not writing this to give people a suspicious mind or a lack of patience attitude. Neither am I writing this to get you to cut everyone off and go around alone For as much as there is Judas there are many Jonathans waiting to love and have your back till the end. Neither am I writing this to have you looking down on everyone. This is not a ‘one strike and you are out to all my friends’ post. It is simply a get purposeful and aware about who is around us post. Be spiritually sensitive and prayferful about who is there as a blessing and who is there for ‘distant loving’
Some people are on a constant emotional roller coaster simply due to the ‘friends’ / confidants they have chosen to keep. Their trust is constantly battered yet they choose to not rethink their love. Time to love smart. There is more than one way to love. You can love without allowing the snakey situation to stay biting you and oozing venom into your veins. If you are left constantly feeling like you want to leave the faith from walking in love then maybe its time to rethink why? Christ loved and He was broken and died but there was a time for resurrection. there was a time of peace, there was a time of lifting. So as much as its essential to walk in love with others its also essential to be mindful that you walk in love with yourself.
Determine how close a person can be. Some you might have to love from a distance
Refuse to compromise your relationship with God in the guise of walking in love.
Know who you are ‘loving’ be very aware of the character of those around you so you know what areas you need to guard yourself or where you are free to be open
Be purposeful and prayerful about who you keep around you
Finally refuse to have a mis guided view on what it means to love. Just because you deem someone may not be able to be in your inner circle as a friend DOES NOT mean you hate them.
Guarding your heart (proverbs 4:23) in the right way is not wrong
Pearl Madé
I had an open door policy at university. Almost anyone and everyone was allowed to stay at the house. Which was a blessing for them but not soo much for my housemates. Times would come where I would have to give up my room and go bunk with a house mate. One unfortunate night I was forced out by the loud snoring of my guests who lay asleep on my bedroom floor. There were 2 of them but there might as well have been ten. One was even muttering in sleep. With the loud tag team snoring that was going on I wondered how the whole house had not been woken up. I went over to my housemates room and squeezed into bed beside her. She was used to it so didn’t ask any questions and just moved over. This housemate of mine who I called my bestie had a habit of sleeping with the bedroom window open no matter the weather. It was a breezy cold night. I was freezing but was too tired to go bring extra blankets and was too irritated to face the snoring duo again. As I said it was a blessing for the guests with my home being nicknamed ‘the church inn’. My housemates experienced the blessing from constant unexpected guests – their food being eaten and people showing up at not very convenient times for instance a day before our employment law exams demanding to be fed rice and stew in a home full of broke students. There were fun times and it was good to be a blessing but there were quite a few tension causing times. Recently I was soul searching and realised that the old ‘open door policy’ I adopted was gone and I wondered could this be because I was now marrried with a child plus a home to protect or was there something else. On reflection I discovered that some of the not soo nice experiences had changed my mindset subconsciously to the point where I’d gone from welcoming all to becoming a person of heavy scrutiny before they are let in my door. Which in itself is not bad but at times in being overly cautious we prevent ourself from being a blessing… or being blessed Hebrews 13:2-
Ladyvirtue 