Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. — Matthew 27:3 & 4
Each and every person is given chances in their lives. I am not here to talk about equitable chances as many would like to talk about in today’s society. I am referring to the chances to choose to do what is right in our lives. We are all given the chance to decide between doing good and doing evil each day that we live.
I am so thankful that God is the God of multiple chances. So many times He has given me opportunity after opportunity to do the right thing in my life. It’s much easier to do the right thing the first time, but many times it takes me the second or third try. But what happens when we neglect the chances that God has given us?
In the 27th chapter of Matthew, we learn a lot about the cost of neglecting the chances that God gives us. We find the situation of Judas, who had spent years walking by Jesus’ side. Judas saw the miracles, heard the teachings, and witnessed work after work of Jesus. Even amid all the opportunities to serve Jesus, Judas still betrayed Him. He betrayed Jesus with a kiss, giving up the one last opportunity that he was given for thirty pieces of silver.
I wonder if Judas had similar thoughts going through his mind as we do ours when we neglect the opportunities that God gives us? We often make excuses like it won’t hurt anyone. Perhaps, we say “just this once.” I have even had others share the excuse “no one else will know or see.” Opportunity after opportunity that was given and neglected through excuses and personal desires.
We have a unique opportunity that Judas does not. Judas exhausted all the chances that he had. He didn’t have the next time that so many times we desire and promise to ourselves. Rather than making excuses, make today the day. Make today the day that you stop neglecting the chances that God gives you to serve Him. Make today the day that the excuses stop. Eventually, the opportunities will go away and we do not want to be like Judas and to have squandered all our chances.