Easter celebration has come and gone but not for me though, every time I spend in His presence I can never fail to celebrate the Price of redemption. From a circular point of view the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most epic hero stories of all time and along with the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the most classic villain character. Of course as a believer and from a positive perspective something had to lead to another thing for God in flesh, the sinless son of man to die to save sinners. But I’m not going talk about the Judas story from that angle, I will be talking about Judas as, yes you guessed right, the ‘bad guy’.There’s a saying ‘when you point a finger, there are three fingers pointing back at you’, people have criticised the Judas character with all manner of negatives words. But in reality, pointing a finger at Mr. Judas has actually been three back at you. Inspired by an Easter sermon by my Pastor, Rev. Gabriel Achimba, in this post, I will be highlighting 3 ways we display the Judas in us.
1. Money over everything [John 12:3-6]
Judas was not like any other disciple or apostle; it will amaze you to know that he was the treasurer of the ministry of Jesus. If you ask fellow disciple and Apostle, John [John 12:6 & 13:29] his account on how Judas performed in his duty, “Judas is a thief” he will tell you. I don;t think Judas is only a thief, it seem to me that he really had a 21st Century love affair with money, way to extreme for that era. Judas was a real hustler with an eye that places a price tag on anything on site; he even knew the exact price of the ointment Mary poured on the feet of Jesus.
Most people today have lost touch with things that actually matter; many have placed the search of money over family and even over God. Money has become so important that some of us forget that without God there won’t be life, without life there won’t be work and without work there’re won’t be money. Without a life, family and friends to spend the money with, money has no value. Like a mother who works till late hours leaving a child at home with inadequate care exposing the child to a nanny who was watching TV while the baby drank a full bottle of cough medicine and ended up in the ER dead and a young man who works all week even on Sunday while church service is ongoing later got afflicted with cancer exhausting all his savings on chemotherapy and later died, when it’s all said and done the desperate search for the inked paper was a waste of time and effort.
2. Too smart to give to church
Some of us are of the opinion that giving to the church in its many types is simply throwing your money away, enriching men of God to live better with 5 star lifestyles, big cars and private jets. Some will say it’s even better to give to the poor than to give to the church. If you think this is the truth, well, you think and talk like Judas [John 12:4-5]. Wait a second, are you sure you guys are not related? *giggles* just kidding. But seriously speaking, that mentality is very wrong and I will tell you 3 reasons why;
- Firstly, who said men of God are supposed to look poor and wretched? I mean who came with that? How can you work for Bill Gates (Billionaire) and live like Jack Dawson (movie: Titanic), isn’t that awkward. How can an individual who works for the King of kings [Haggai 2:8], owner of all the riches of this world and be poor, if you ask me, he should live the richest life on earth. So, if you believe your God-giving money, which you give out in a small part to the church will contribute to the prosperity of a servant of God. What is bad about that?
- Secondly, giving is an act of worship and honour to God [Proverbs 3:9] and not to man. Every time you give, be conscious of the fact that you are honouring God.
- Finally, giving is an indication of love, attraction and desire [Matthew 6:21]. I can tell a lot about you by just looking at your shopping receipts and observing what and where you spend your money. Giving to the church shows your love, attraction and desire for God.
3. Judas sold Jesus once; you are probably sell Jesus every single day.
How?
Jesus is alive today, maybe not in flesh but in Spirit. When you gave your life to God as a believer, that Spirit was placed in you. The purpose of that impartation is to give you a kind of bearing on what is right from wrong, some call it conscience. Some of us trade this for our immediate desires [Matthew 16:26]. For example every time you ignore your feelings just to lie in other to get something from someone or sleep with someone who you’re not married to gain money, favour or pleasure, that is trading. The action of buying and selling goods and services or rather, selling out the conscience to gain contentment.
You probably thought I will state betrayal as way of acting like Judas, but like every reaction there’s an action. Before the evil inspiration to sell Jesus came about, these 3 characteristics among others created a fertile ground for the seed of betrayal to grow into fruition. Trust me with a Judas attitude you won’t only live a lifetime of hell on earth but ultimately in eternity.
In case you want to say to me, brother! You just spoke directly to me and I really need a change of attitude and I don’t want to spend my time on earth and eternity out of God’s presence in hell betraying Jesus and trading the unmerited gift of salvation for worthless vanities of this world.. Right there where you are say this prayer;
Father forgive me, I confess to you my sins, I repent of my actions, Father I ask for the Grace to live and think right, help me Lord. In Jesus name I pray amen.
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