villains in someone else’s story

Let’s talk about Judas Iscariot for a moment.

Oh, have I got your attention?

Good.

I always think about the musical Jesus Christ Superstar when I think about Judas Iscariot. The song Heaven on Their Minds is the first sung song in the musical and Judas sings it, creating a conflicted character that believes he is truly doing something for the greater good.

“My mind is clearer now. / At last all too well /I can see where we all soon will be.”

~ Andrew Lloyd Webber songwriter, performed by various artists, “Heaven on Their Minds” from Jesus Christ Superstar

Judas was a thief. He was mentioned as an embezzler of the community funds. He was greedy. He was known as Jesus’ betrayer and in Dante’s Inferno he is forever trapped in the final circle of Hell. He is a symbol of ultimate treason, betraying his friend with a kiss. He also held a number of resentments, like all humans do.

The reason I like his portrayal in Jesus Christ Superstar is because it shows him as someone with whom we all can sympathize with if we think about it. Perhaps by the end of the gospels, he thought this is definitely NOT what I signed up for when I was asked to follow Jesus. Maybe he had a different agenda, a plan that would never come to fruition, a thought that just didn’t sit right with the other disciples. Maybe he did really think he was doing what was best for the greater good. Perhaps he didn’t know how the story would ultimately pan out, hence his unfortunate ending. But he was human. Like we all are.

“All I ask is that you listen to me. And remember, I’ve been your right hand man all along. You have set them all on fire. They think they’ve found the new Messiah. And they’ll hurt you when they find they’re wrong.”

~ Andrew Lloyd Webber songwriter, performed by various artists, “Heaven on Their Minds” from Jesus Christ Superstar

We all do things we end up regretting. We all end up doing things that betray others, if if we don’t intend them to. Maybe our betrayals are not in the same scope as those of Judas, but we all are villains in someone else’s story. We all become someone that causes a boundary to be put up, even if we don’t mean it. No matter what our intentions are, we become the bad guy for someone else.

“But every word you say today / Gets twisted ’round some other way. / And they’ll hurt you if they think you’ve lied.”

~ Andrew Lloyd Webber songwriter, performed by various artists, “Heaven on Their Minds” from Jesus Christ Superstar

We each have a vision of how the story of our lives should play out. But sometimes, we also have a vision of how someone else’s life should be as well. We set out to influence others. We push our own motivations on them. We set out with our own agendas to change their lives without a second thought as to how it will actually play out.

“The Bible CLEARLY says….”

“Why can’t you be normal?”

“Get a real job.”

“Stop being a snowflake.”

“You have no ambition.”

But we often find that we can’t control others. We can’t force others to live out OUR story. And while we each must make our own ways in life, we also must accept that we may be the one who are crossing someone else’s boundary. We betray them, even when we don’t mean to. We must realize that sometimes, we need to give others space because we’ve betrayed them, that our exertion of influence and manipulations were not for the greater good like we thought they were.

“Listen, Jesus, to the warning I give. / Please remember that I want us to live. / But it’s sad to see our chances weakening with every hour.”

~ Andrew Lloyd Webber songwriter, performed by various artists, “Heaven on Their Minds” from Jesus Christ Superstar

Maybe Judas felt betrayed. He had some sort of plan for how this story he was a part of was supposed to play out. But the divine had a different agenda. Jesus was different. And Judas couldn’t control him and lost track of where the story was supposed to go. His agenda became that of ultimate betrayal. He became the best known traitor of all time. He became the biggest villain.

Sometimes, we need to ask ourselves if our vision of the story the best one. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves if our agenda, our intentions, our path is the one we truly want to be on.

What kind of story are you trying to lead?

Are you the villain in another’s story?

Stay magical, friends.

Write your OWN story.

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