Recently while reading and listening to a devotion, I came across a verse that jumped out at me. It was Mark 11:14 but it was the last part that really spoke to me, or shall I say convicted me. It was from a section of Scripture leading up to the betrayal and arrest of Jesus and told how the chief priests had agreed to pay Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus. He readily agreed and the Bible says in the last part of verse 14 that he sought a way the he “might conveniently betray Him.” As I both read and heard these words today, something deep within my heart was pricked by the sharp Sword of the Word.
If we all were to be completely honest, we would probably all confess that at some point or another we have looked down on Judas and wondered how he could betray Jesus like that. But I’m telling you, my friend, today something about the words “conveniently betray Him” really jabbed at my heart. It begged me to ask the question that I must admit I was very reluctant to ask myself. How often have I “conveniently” betrayed Jesus? Oh, I know I may not have sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, but it is with great shame that I confess that I have many times betrayed Him for much less.
I cringe as I think of all the things I have “conveniently” betrayed Him for. It is with great horror that I look back over my life and think about how many times I must have broken His heart as I “conveniently” betrayed Him for such worthless things. I have “conveniently” betrayed Him as I have chosen to do things I knew He didn’t want me to do. I have betrayed Him by passing up on the opportunities to share Him with others because it wasn’t “convenient” or I was afraid of what they might think of me or say to me. I have “conveniently” remained silent when I should have spoken.
I have “conveniently” betrayed Him by putting other people or other things on the throne of my heart where only He should have been. I have at times “conveniently” forgotten that I bear His name and am His representative to a lost and dying world. I have spoken words I shouldn’t say. I have lost my temper. I have been greedy and selfish and many things I never should have been. I have stayed home from church because it wasn’t “convenient” for me to get up and go that day. It’s funny how easy it is to do what is more convenient for ourselves than it is to do what we know would be more pleasing to Him.
It is so easy to judge Judas for betraying Jesus but if we put ourselves under the microscope how well would we really fare? How many times do we “conveniently betray Him”? I would be willing to take a guess and say that it is far more frequent than we would care to admit. Thankfully, we don’t have to wallow in our shame because our beloved Savior has forgiven us and “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). What we can do, however, is to make it a point to really search our hearts on a daily basis and do our best to no longer seek to “conveniently betray Him”.
May we seek to do our best to honor Him in words, action, and deed. May we seek to put Him first in our hearts so that we do not so easily “conveniently betray Him”. Perhaps if we daily ask Him to help us love Him and adore Him more than anything else in our lives we will find that we are far less likely to betray our dear Lord and Savior. Perhaps if we make Him the true desire of our hearts, then our desire would be to honor Him in all that we say and do. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer” Psalm 19:14.
Katrina Douglas
