My own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9)
It is one thing to be assailed by an enemy — it is to be expected — but it is another kind of hurt to be betrayed by someone you have trusted in times past. And so, we will juxtapose this situation with what we have been discussing previously — considering the less fortunate. As followers of the Messiah, we are obligated by the very fact that we are His disciples to have consideration of those in need, whether they are friends or not. In fact, Scripture tells us that we are obligated, in certain situations, to help our enemies. It is written, “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again” (Exodus 23:4). Messiah said, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who hate you” (Matthew 5:44).
On the other hand, we who are obligated to do what is right are assured that we will not be treated in the same manner by our enemies. Furthermore, we cannot be confident that we will be treated properly by our friends and family. Messiah said that His disciples “will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another” (Matthew 24:9-10). To be betrayed by someone means that person was close to you — someone you trusted and broke bread with you. Yet, it is inevitable that all who follow Messiah will feel the sting of betrayal at the hands of brothers; He was subjected to it and so we must expect the same experience to touch our lives as well.
There is an old saying: “No good deed goes unpunished.” When you think about it the saying is quite cynical, in fact, it implies that it is pointless to perform good deeds — only a sucker would do good to others. Sadly, it might be that many of our good deeds go unappreciated by men but that doesn’t mean we should stop performing them. Man might ignore them and, in some cases, might even exploit them as a means to attack us — but no matter. The important thing to remember is that God keeps an account of your good deeds and selflessness. If the one who eats your bread betrays you, don’t cease from putting bread on the table. Regardless of what everyone else does, we must keep doing what is right in the eyes of God. In the end, He will see to it that your righteous actions are recognized.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
Recent Comments