The most agreed upon story of betrayal in our culture is that of Judas and Jesus. You know, the silver coins he got for ratting out his boss. It’s widely assumed that when Jesus spoke of betrayal at The Last Supper, he was referring to Judas. But there is another, much smaller school of critics who believe that Jesus was actually talking about “Paul” formerly “Saul Of Tarsus” and how Paul would take his teachings and make a franchise out of them, even when Jesus had explicitly stated that it was not what he wanted. Thanks to Paul, we now have McFaith and enough variant versions of the story and it’s interpretation to obfuscate any real and meaningful truth.

I want you to keep both versions of this parable in mind during the coming months because there will be people who will appear to be doing you wrong, when they’re just fulfilling their end of an agreement that you had forged some time ago. Then, there will be others who appear to be doing you favors and supporting you, when in reality, they are hemming you in, re-routing your power and creating something entirely different than you had intended. They could be very well meaning and take the form of a lover, therapist, spiritual counselor or mentor whom you have trusted. But now you need to really use your inner vision, especially as it relates to the aforementioned group and even, in some cases, well meaning friends.

What looks like a favor, or a good turn on the surface could really back fire, especially if your level of involvement is limited. If someone wants to set something up for you, manage an existing operation or take on more workload as a favor…caveat emptor. Do your very best not to abdicate your personal power or autonomy in the weeks ahead and if someone does manage to openly treat you in ways that seem like they’re betraying your trust, simply bless them and learn what you can. Otherwise, keep your enemies close and your friends closer.