As 21st century Christians, we can’t know if Judas had already determined that he was going to betray Jesus and decided to see if he could make a few denarii in the process or whether he needed money and the offer of 30 pieces of silver was enough to make the price right for him. What we do know is that all navigate a world in which money is the secular language of value and we all need to have access to some money in order to make good on our covenants ( provide for ourselves and others.) The prospect of being “broke” or not having any money for retirement is a haunting scenario that keeps many of us at the grindstone. And these concerns are certainly valid.
But if we are honest with ourselves, we will also confess that there is a concept that involves surveying our blessings and our assets and decalring,”This is enough. Lord, thank you for my blessings.” In a consumer culture in which so many creative minds and the power of television and internet images cause us to “ooh” and “ah” over products that we don’t possess and subliminally assume that we absolutely NEED to possess, this is a foreign concept. A theology of enough. The takeaway from Matthew 26:14-16 is that when we are content and not seeking, we are more apt to be true to our inner selves as opposed to our outer cravings.
