Betrayal by action and inaction

      Betrayed by human hands. Betrayed by us. We can proclaim anything we want , our actions are what tell the story. There is no division between what we do and what we believe or who we are. 

      This is so true in our world today. Profess your Christianity all you want, it is your actions, your human actions that betray what you say. WWJD seems simplistic and almost naive but it is the truth. What Jesus did and how he lived dictates how we should act, what we believe.  This is not a license to twist God's words, cherry pick them or use some ridiculous logic to justify ones actions.  The first line of this mornings passage speaks volumes about what happened and happens still.

          When we lose sight of the intimate connectivity between our beliefs and our actions, anything can happen. When we see children weeping, screaming and crying at our borders, this is the face of betrayal, this is the distress caused by allowing our beliefs to let someone else take control of our values and beliefs. 

       Our actions or inactions speak volumes to the truth about what we truly believe. The local Methodist church currently has a sign that notes that our beleifs are indicated by a look at our checkbook. What we believe is based on where we put our priorities and how we act. What have you done today? What will you be doing today?

Matthew 17:22-27

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.’ And they were greatly distressed.

When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?’ He said, ‘Yes, he does.’ And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?’ When Peter said, ‘From others’, Jesus said to him, ‘Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.’