Honestly, I love The Traitors. I especially enjoyed the recent celebrity spin-off and I’m now anxiously waiting for the next series. Perhaps it’s my personal connection to Scotland, where the series is filmed, or maybe it’s the grand castle, the dramatic music score, or the intense cliff hangers that drive me to keep watching.

If you aren’t familiar with The Traitors, the concept is based on the classic party game, mafia. A group of people come together. Some are chosen as ‘traitors’ and the rest are ‘faithful’. The traitors ‘kill off’ the faithful, one by one, whilst the faithful must work out who the traitors are and vote them off. Get it wrong though and they could end up getting rid of one of their own.

Obviously the TV version of this has some major upgrades, with big challenges, a dynamic host and the draw of a large monetary prize pot. Faithful doubt each other, traitors turn on traitors. As the viewer, seeing all the hidden conversations and conspiracies, we are firmly in the best seat to watch the drama unfold.

With the latest series having 10-12 million people watching per episode, there is no denying that this show is a hit. And with recent news suggesting that the franchise has added nearly £22 million to the Scottish economy, it has made a significant mark on our country, and around the world. With multiple series already scheduled it is clearly here to stay for a while longer.

On the surface it seems like a show removed from reality. Yet it could be said that the success of this show is how its creators have expertly packaged a view of the real world. Here are three ways I think The Traitors holds up a mirror to what we experience in our day-to-day lives and some thoughts on what that means as we get alongside people.

1. People rely on personal truth

It may seem odd, but this game based upon lies and deception reveals our desire for honesty and truth.

The traitors hold the power, because they know the position of every player in the game, whilst the faithful are left in the dark, desperately trying to work out who is genuine and who is lying. They only know their own position. Players are left in a space where they cannot trust anything they see or hear, and are left frustrated, confused and powerless.

We know we are lied to everyday and that most things presented to us are covered by a filter. The people I come alongside are fed up of wading through it all, trying to determine what and who is faithful, and who is just out to get ahead.

In the end, like the faithful on the show, people rely on the truth they know – often truths about ourselves, which feel concrete and reliable.

As we come alongside people and try to live differently to the ‘my truth, your truth’ mentality, holding onto and holding out God’s truth about them, we must do so with compassion, aware that we live in a world that often forces us to doubt and question everything around us.

2. People stand on trial

In The Traitors, whatever your position in the game, everyone is on trial. Personalities are questioned, actions and words analysed, every tilt of the head or placement of a cup  – all to root out the traitors. Every accusation presents an opportunity and need to defend oneself.

As an audience, we can relate. Most people are living with this sense of being always on trial in front of everyone. How we present ourselves on social media, how we speak in group chats or the way we word a particular email at work, we are conscious that the next thing we say or do could get us cancelled (or banished).

In the series, each player comes in with a plan for how to win. ‘To be forward and steer the conversation’ or to ‘play it cool and sit back’. For some it is contrary to their normal way of being, and for others they want to ‘be themselves’. Yet no method is foolproof. They are left doubting themselves when they eventually come under scrutiny and must rethink how to approach the next day.

It can seem like no matter what we do – being ourselves or putting on a persona – there is always a risk of being rejected. The call to be yourself (#nofilter) still leaves you open to scrutiny. It’s no more secure a strategy than hiding behind a mask.

As you come alongside people, perhaps you can ask God to help you see the ways that people are navigating these challenges and what impact it is having on them. We have the privilege of showing people that they can be seen, known and loved as they are.

3. People value relationships

In the show, the players are practically living together and experiencing everything together. It is no surprise that very quickly bonds and relationships are formed. Those that leave often declare their genuine love and fondness for their fellow players, despite being voted out by them.

There is real sadness when people discover that those they trusted most, or were closest to, turned out to be traitors – even though its ‘just a game’!

People don’t often vote for their friends and they struggle to believe any accusations about them (or perhaps choose to look the other way because they want to keep them around).

Despite the goal being to win prize money, which could very well change people’s lives, it is surprising to see that many choose relational connection, even to their detriment.

It seems that our human need for connection and relationship can overcome our material needs and desires. As you seek to get alongside people, take courage in the fact that people long for relational connection, perhaps more than we realise.

When you take people – celebrities or not – and put them in this game together, something of what it means to be human comes out. As an audience, amid the drama and the twists and turns the game presents, we see our own realities reflected back to us. Yet, in the world, we are more than spectators. We have an exciting opportunity to come alongside people who experience these things everyday, and play our part in what our God is doing, confident that he is always faithful.