Dough over Bros ?

Recently as I was re-reading the betrayal of Jesus ( Matthew 26:14-16, 20-25, 47-56; Mark 14:10-11, 17-21, 42-50; Luke 22:1-6; 21-23; 47-53; John 18:2-11), I wanted to know exactly how much money Judas Iscariot received for turning Jesus in to the chief priests. In the scripture it says that he received thirty pieces of silver (Matt 26:15). My first thought is that this does not really seem like too much money for such treachery. I then, looked to the place most people look to for wisdom and guidance, Google. It gave me sites that began breaking down exactly how much 30 pieces of silver was back then; saying it was equal to 120 days wages and so on and so forth. Other sites gave a few different thoughts but they didn’t really seem that believable. You know how the internet is, you just can’t believe anything and everything people say *cough* wecanknow.com *cough* (if you don’t get that, read my last posting). But then God spoke to me and said, “Does it even matter?” Could I even put a price on such an act? Immediately I answered “No”. It doesn’t matter how much money Judas received to betray Jesus, no amount would be sufficient.
Judas’ actions show that he still didn’t understand exactly who Jesus is. Or better yet, Judas was so clouded with greed that he didn’t really think it through, because if he would have, he would have realized a few things. First, that Jesus would know that he was going to betray him even before he actually did (John 13:21-27). Second, nothing he could have possibly wanted to gain would be worth trading in the Messiah to get it. And third, he still didn’t understand that whatever he needed or wanted would have been provided if he just had enough faith to ask and believe. Judas did not have to resort to deceitful ways in order to get what he was after.
In Luke 22:3 and 4, it says that satan entered Judas before he went to the chief priests. But that doorway was already open because apparently Judas had a weakness for money. In John 12:3-6, he objected when Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus. Judas, outraged, stated that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor, but he really didn’t care about the poor, he was a thief. He was keeper of the money bag and he used to help himself to what was in it.
So let’s apply this to our lives today. If asked, “Would you betray Jesus for 30 silver coins,” I am guessing most, if not everyone would say a quick “no”. But even if we are not the ones who infamously betrayed Him with a kiss (Matthew 26:48,49), we are in a sense betraying Him daily when we turn away from who He is and chase after things of this world that are nothing when compared to Him. Our disloyalty comes when we use deceitful practices in order to retrieve the things we want instead of realizing the key to everything we want and need is already with us or in us. Now, in no way am I saying that we will become a modern day Judas and commit such an act, but what Judas’ biggest fault was that he left a door open for satan to enter and use against Jesus. So my advice is shut those doors. If there are little deceitful things that we are doing “behind Jesus’ back”, close the entry so the enemy has no way to come in and use us. Instead, take those things to Jesus, because He already knows of them. Ask He who already has forgiven us, He who laid down His own life for these little things and big things, He who even forgave those that crucified Him, including Judas (Luke 23:34) to not only shut the door but clean out the whole house.