Do As I Say…
not as i do
'Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. ” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. ' John 12:3-6
i imagine we all know some 2-faced people; expecting others to live out their lives as you tell them but they do the exact opposite. unfortunately, i was one of them for many years. don’t do drugs, they are bad for your health; don’t drink and drive, you could hurt someone; eat healthy, not junk food; exercise not just sit around and do nothing.
while these are just a few examples, i lived as a hypocrite: teaching the principles of d.a.r.e. (drug awareness resistance education), while i inhaled, snorted, swallowed my way into mental and physical oblivion. telling people the dangers of driving under the influence (m.a.d.d. - mothers against drunk driving), only to be on the road, plastered and incoherent, at 2, 3, 4 or later in the morning trying to get home or wherever i was heading to.
judas was a deceiver too - he may have sounded virtuous when asking why the money for the expensive perfume wasn’t sold to help people in need; the real reason was that he wanted the money for himself, as he was a petty thief. a selfish, self-centered person who may told other people ‘thou shalt not steal’, yet didn’t live out the eighth commandment.
when i or other people live duplicitous lives, it does catch up to us in the end. there is no amount of hiding your lies as you will eventually be revealed and the consequences are real. in judas’ case, he had lived so close to the one that gives life, restores lives, provides abundantly, all the while preaching the Good News - Jesus. when Jesus shared that one of the disciples would betray Him, they asked our Lord, “is it i, Lord”, but judas did so differently - “is it i, rabbi.”
what’s the difference you might be asking yourself:
According Matthew 26:20, during the course of the Passover supper Christ informed the disciples that one of them would betray him. Each of them began to question the Savior, “Is it I, Lord?” It is amazing that each could plumb the depths of his soul, wondering if he could be the culprit.
Presently, Judas framed the same query. “Is it I, Rabbi?” [Note the change in the address.]
The Lord responded (perhaps in almost a whisper), “You have said so” (v. 25, ESV). This was an affirmative answer, to the effect: “Yes, you are the one.”
But did Judas’ question imply that he did not know that he was the one who would betray the Lord? Certainly not, for already he had bargained with the chief priests to deliver Christ unto them (Mt. 26:14-16; Mk. 14:10-11; Lk. 22:3-6). One must thus conclude that the traitor’s question was insincere — a mere parroting of what the other apostles had said.
~ wayne jackson, Christian courier ~
with judas betraying Jesus, he ultimately died of his transgression - a rather brutal and gruesome way to go out. like i referenced earlier about consequences, their is a price to pay, sometimes very big.
what turned it around for me is that i was falling apart, losing everything that was near and dear to me, including my life - the people i loved and my relationship with God/Jesus. all the material things started to go first, then it was my marriage/family, eventually i could see/feel that i was so far apart from the Lord. dark days eventually saw light when i was making strides to change, to live out what i say, to seek Him first in every aspect of my life.
dear Heavenly Father, thank you for changing my once two-face into one seeking your face. teach me to live out my life that others will see you in it and not the devil. may my life be lived out to bring you glory and honor Lord. in Jesus’ name i pray, amen!