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The banker.
When you play a game with paper money, who’s the banker? Does someone just naturally assume the role, or is there a competition or roll of the dice to see who it will be?
There’s just something about having that job. Control. Power. Position. Even if it’s not “your” money, it’s in your hands.
Have you ever been tempted to take a little? Maybe when no one is looking. When you get a payday by collecting $200, do you slide another $100 with it? Or maybe you pull the old “I’m going to cash in some of these low bills” trick and get more $20s than you’re supposed to.
What would it actually benefit you to do it? Maybe it gets you a little ahead here and there. Who knows, you might even win the game, but who cares? Was it worth it knowing you cheated?
And to throw the suspicion off yourself, you might even accuse someone else of cheating or stealing.
John 12:4-6
“Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,
5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.”
Mary, the sister of Lazarus, had just used an expensive bottle of oil to wash Jesus‘ feet. Judas, the disciple entrusted with their money, speaks out against this act and the misuse of their resources.
Why? Perhaps to throw suspicion off himself. If Mary has “misused” a resource, maybe others had as well. And that could explain any discrepancies with the accounting.
Maybe that would distract their attention from the person responsible for the money. Maybe he could hide it, and no one would know.
Judas.
Control. Power. Position.
This money was in his hands. The temptation showed his true nature. One that Jesus already knew about.
He knows.
He knows every thought and every action.
Testing will come. We all face trials. He doesn’t shield us from those things or take them away. Instead, He uses them as opportunities for growth. Not for Him to learn what we will do because He already knows. But for us.
We always have a choice. That choice reveals our true nature, not to Him but ourselves.
You may be facing a tough situation, a temptation, a trial. You have a choice. But you’re not alone. Seek the Lord in the midst. Let Him lead you. Read His Word for guidance in how to respond or what decision to make. Pray for wisdom and courage to do the right thing.
He already knows. Trust Him.
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