The Judas Principle

One out of the twelve disciples betrayed Jesus for money. Jesus was crucified because of this betrayal.

I don't want to make this a theological blog about Judas, but rather how we can make the "Judas Principle" practical in our lives.

Betrayal, hurt and "being sold out" are a part of life.

I was recently talking with another pastor about these type of things. I came to the conclusion that you cannot stop Judas from being in your life. Jesus knew, at least from the Last Supper, (we can all agree) that Judas was going to betray him. He did not carry Judas to the side and fuss at him. He did not start paranoia in the group by talking about Judas to other disciples. He did not "monitor" and watch Judas. I have been a part of ministries where the leader is paranoid and accuses people of being against them.

Jesus, ate with Judas. Jesus allowed Judas to hold the only office in the group of apostles (treasurer) and he let Judas do what he was going to do.

You cannot lead people if you are paranoid that they are going to "stab" you in the back. If you try to pick out the "Judas's" in your organization, you will find out that you may be wrong. We would have probably picked Peter to be the one to ultimately betray Christ. He was called, "Satan" by Jesus at one point. He was loud, boisterous and wrong a lot.

Judas played an important role in the life of Jesus Christ. His action of betrayal sent Christ to the cross. There could not have been the resurrection without the cross.

The Judas Principle is simple. Love those around you. Don't let paranoia get the best of you or your organization. Even if you have been hurt in the past, don't let a deep distrust of people spoil your chance to develop them.

The Scripures say that Judas hung himself. If you play your cards correctly, you will fulfill the role of love in Judas' life, allow them to position you where you are supposed to be and they will eventually destroy themselves without you having to try to do that for them.

Just Don't Deflate the Balloon

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great made this statement, "You don't have to be a great motivator, just don't do things that de-motivate the team."

I have been around leaders that violate this principle all the time. I was recently in a staff meeting at work and saw the violation of this in a major way. The leader came in and told the staff how bad we were and called people out. There were ladies crying after meeting!
It has taken weeks for the morale to return to normal.

What demotivates the people around you?

The error comes in when a leader wants to motivate his people and get their production levels up and gets into the "we need to.... you ought to.... just do this...." I listen to preachers on this level. Most preachers say, "You need, you ought, you should..."

So, if you are going to start and sustain a movement then look at these factors of demotivating people under you or around you:

• -Calling them out in front of others when you have never approached the conflict personally.
• -Not dealing with conflict between those in your midst.
• -Leading reactively to problems instead of proactively with vision.
• -Not saying, "I am sorry, I was wrong."
• -Not showing personal appreciation to those around you by specifically and privately encouraging them.
• -Over-promising and under-delivering.

These are just a few. Tim Elmore gives a picture of the "Hot Air Balloon" on how to encourage leaders. We must always keep air in the balloons of those around us. Don't deflate the balloon.

Enjoy the Journey

I spoke with a mentor recently and his words of advice were- "Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the journey." At the time it was hard, because the time I was in was a hard place. I felt the Lord echo these words to me recently.

I awoke to a text message from one our prayer leaders last week- "Psalms 37- God Bless You!"

As I pulled out on my hour long journey to the office at Workforce Solutions, I felt the Lord say, "This means, 'enjoy the journey, as it being a journey given by Me, and as you are able to do that you will see all My plans and desires come to pass over your life.'"

Most Christians can quote Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

I feel most of us don't enjoy the journey, but rather we put up with the journey and are always living for the next moment.

Simply put- to start a movement- start enjoying your everyday life as a gift and journey from God. Don't curse the course. Enjoy the bumps and be thankful.