ANATOMY OF A TRAITOR

"That is when one of the Twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the cabal of high priests and said, 'What will you give me if I hand him over to you?' They settled on thirty silver pieces. He began looking for just the right moment to hand him over." Matthew 26:14 (MSG)

Judas' betrayal of Jesus occurred on the heels of offense. Mary of Bethany had just broken her expensive alabaster box of ointment and poured its contents on Jesus. (There are multiple accounts of this incident in the gospels and each supplies additional details to the story.) The disciples protested such "waste" of resources, which, they said, could better have been spent on the poor. One account indicates Judas actually voiced the objection. Jesus intervened, rebuking the disciples and defending Mary's action: "What she has done is a beautiful thing. She has anointed my body for burial. You will always have opportunity to do something for the poor. You will not always have opportunity to do something for me."

Judas was stung by Jesus' rebuke.  As treasurer he handled the money, and evidently he felt he should have a voice in how it should be used. Judas' perspective was too narrow-- monetary decisions were defined only by a "cost/benefit analysis." Furthermore, all this talk of death and burial didn't fit Judas' paradigm of success. Again, his perspective was too narrow -- too utilitarian (what "works" is what's good) -- too temporal ("kingdom now not later") -- too selfish ("what's in it for me?")

A purely "cost/benefit" analysis of expenses might be fine in the case of for-profit business, but not in the case of Kingdom matters. They must be viewed from a higher, wider perspective -- a spiritual perspective. Jesus knew the deeper dimension to Mary's act. The disciples did not. Judas had personal spiritual problems that further skewed his perspective on this incident. Another account indicates he was dishonest. For him, money was the all-important consideration.

While we should be good stewards of resources, beware of the tendency to make money the all-important consideration. Look beyond the "cost-benefit" concept and see if there might be other things to consider. What appears to be "waste," may in fact, be something very pleasing to God. Check your heart on this. Beware of taking offense over money issues. It can lead to the betrayal of God's people and God's purpose.