2022
Small things show up later as big things…
Off the Chain / 0 Comments /Dear Supporters, Brethren and Friends,
As I have mentioned before, working with men after release from prison helps me to notice patterns of behavior occurring in prison that are connected to what happens after release. Many men are clean and sober in prison, but have tendencies, small things, that are still showing up in their lives even though they seemingly have conquered the particular sins that brought them to prison – big things. The small things that continue to live in their lives show up later as big things.
I have been teaching the gospel of John at Marion CI for the last couple of months. We have had some good discussions during the class. It is always amazing and embarrassing to me how much I have missed all the other times I have studied and taught John. God’s word is so challenging and provocative. The word stays the same, but as we grow, get older, encounter new experiences, etc., we see some things from a different perspective each time through. Maybe I am just a little dense and slow, so it takes me a few times!
This time through, I was challenged by what John is telling us about Judas. We all know the big issues of Judas’ life – he betrayed Christ with a kiss for a small amount of money and afterward committed suicide. On the surface it looks like Judas just kind of fell off the cliff. He was doing fine and then one day Satan entered him and he decided he would betray Jesus. Then one day he decided he would kill himself. I wonder how many people around Judas were shocked by what happened. Maybe they said things like “He was doing so well, I wonder what happened to him” or “ he was always so nice, what happened” or “I never saw that coming” or “something really bad must have happened in his life to cause him to do that” or “how did he just suddenly fall off the rails like that.” I think most of us would have thought the same thing. Did the other disciples asked themselves the same questions? I think those questions are answered by Jesus’ teaching especially considering what is said in John 12 about Judas…
Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
Without this information we would be in the dark about what happened with Judas. Why did this seemingly faithful disciple betray Christ and then kill himself? John’s revealing of Judas’ behavior proclaims what Jesus taught in scripture – big things start as small things – good or bad. Jesus said this in Luke 14…
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
Do you think that Judas ever thought that stealing a little money from the money bag would have ever led to his betrayal of Jesus and then his eventual suicide? If we didn’t know any better, we would say that the betrayal of Jesus was “the event” that led him to kill himself. However, it is clear, allowing a “little” dishonesty and a “little” greed and a “little” pride live in his life led to the betrayal of his King and to the murder of himself. Sin takes us further than we intended to go!
Jesus made a similar point in Matthew 25:14-30 where he taught when we are faithful over a little, we prove ourselves to be able to be faithful over a lot.
Many men apparently fall off suddenly once they are released from prison. They seemed to be doing so well. What happened? I am trying to focus these men on the “little things” that remain in their lives while in prison that maybe are hidden from others or are harder to see that will eventually show up in “bigger” things once released. Those “little” things of dishonesty, pride, self-pity, unfaithfulness, etc. Stealing a little food here and there from the chow hall, stealing a little extra time on a movie rental, stealing a few tee shirts from the laundry, etc. Paul agreed with Jesus when he said that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” – 1 Cor. 5:6.
What I see more clearly now are the “little” things in these men that often lead to the “big” things later. The question for me and all of us is do we see the “little” things in our own lives. We may not end up in prison or murdering ourselves, but Jesus told us they will lead to “bigger” failures.
Thank you for supporting my work and growth in this service to God. He is always faithful. I continually thank God for all of you and your participation with me in this kingdom work.
Daryl Townsend
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