Recently, in my faith circle discussion, we were asked to talk about any biblical personality that appeals to us. Those with enviable personalities, so attractive and amiable to meet one’s standard for a model. As expected, Judas wasn’t part of our preferred personalities. Not ranked among those whose lifestyles could motivate one into becoming good from bad, better from good and best from better.
The truth, which many of us may argue, is the one-sided positive nature of life. A life that is devoid of negativity. It may sound strange and very pedestrian if not weird, but the truth is, life is better seen from a single focus of positivity.
What we call emptiness or negativity is the dysfunctional processing device of human mind to things, the reason for the word ”Mindset” it could be positive or negative. The choice is ones.
He created all things and saw that all that He created were good. This was the Mindset of God at the point of creation. His mind was positive. It was the same positive mind that St Paul talked about in Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind which is in Christ be in you”. It was a “Mindset” that transcends above negativity. A mind that dwells and flourishes within the boundaries of positive thoughts and energy.
It is a mind that recycles waste into amazing products. Taking what was seen as useless and unfruitful, turning it into products that trend with high-level patronage.
Same mindset that took Saul and recycled him into a great preacher of the gospel. Same not different from Peter’s case.
We are in a world that is evolving into a high-tech technological evolution. An era of technological revolution, an era when everything waste would be turned into something very fascinating, solving problems and providing joy, happiness and satisfaction, against spreading negativity.
A world that is bringing the mindset of Christ into production, seeing things from positive sides of recycling of plastic bottles into fabrics of amazing textile texture, coconut shells into activated carbon, which is used in water filters and air purifiers. They can also be used to make crafts, planters, and even jewelry. Nothing is a waste in this era. A waste is turned into wealth.
The mind of Christ is a mind that recycles sin into righteousness. Wickedness into love. Pride into humility and corruption into godliness. The mind that recycles the seemingly bad behaviour of Judas into tips on how to become an Apostle of diligence and forthrightness.
The lifestyle of Judas was replete with qualities and behavioural patterns on how to be a good Apostle, depending on what one’s eyes see and what one’s mind is able to understand.
Judas was a great guy from the Mindset of positivity. Let us look at Judas’ personality from the lens of a recycling mindset. How the recycling mind would take his seemingly bad behaviour into something stunning and productive.
1)Stealing From Public Funds.
This was the general impression everyone has about Judas. Someone that steals and won’t be trusted with money. Such bad character when put in a recycling mindset, turns it into encouraging tips on how not to treat public funds and the consequences attached to such misuse and misappropriation
2) His Betrayal With A Kiss
He betrayed his Master with a kiss over 30 pieces of gold. To a mind that isn’t recycling it is bad and condemnable. But a mind that recycles would look at Judas’ action from the sparky angle of someone who understood the master’s power of by-location, invincibility, the miraculous, and he desired to use it to teach the Jews good lessons in their treacherous mindset, dubiousity, wickedness, and aversion for godliness. Beyond this, it was a massive expression of Judas’ faith in Jesus. He was stone sure of the power in Jesus and never doubted Jesus’ ability to escape the snares of the Jewish fowlers.
On his honour, he probably had bragged how his master wouldn’t be caught. One could see how disappointed he was at the sight of Jesus being dragged, pulled, beaten and crucified. That sight was a far cry of who he thought Jesus was, hence his returning the money to the Jews.
In the case of Judas, Jesus may have disappointed him. But in our case, we keep disappointing God with our faithlessness. The faith of Judas in Christ to do all things was mountainous compared to ours which may be a mole hill.
3) The Return Of The Money.
This singular display of Judas exposed the very hidden intention of Judas, which wasn’t about money. It was more of his desire to make a spectacle of the immeasurable power of the miraculous that Jesus has. He observed Jesus for 3 years. Saw his mastery in the display of healing power, in deliverance, in invisibility, in multiplication of bread and fish. So much enchanted and thrilled, he couldn’t wait to showcase it to ridicule the Jews in their foolishness and Idiocy.
When his expectation failed, keeping the money became a burden of sin, a heavy yoke his tender heart couldn’t bear.
There are a lot of good about Judas in a mind that recycles that would give Judas the stars, the crown, and roses of one of the greatest personalities in the bible. A recycled mind is a mind that turns negativity into positivity. A mind that turns rubbish into robots, a mind that takes waste and turns it into wealth, stains into scent, dirt into dollars, smelling environment into a stunning environment.
A recycling mind is a mind that takes empty dirty trashed plastic can (Life of depression, emptiness, frustration etc) into an amazing bridegroom fabrics. Until one has or cultivates a mind that recycles, Judas would always be a bad guy. This principle of a recycling mind comes handy in every situation. Apply it, on the wings of Eagle, one would have mounted on, fly into that altitude where impossibility stifles and chokes and eventually falls off
To many, Judas was a colossal failure, but to a mind that recycles what happened to him was just a fall or a fail that would lift anyone, reassuring exploit thereafter. From his failure many have known how to lift themselves to reasure exploit in moments of fail.
In the political space, Nigeria would be a better place if the minds of both leaders and the led were recycling. Recycling things that are seen and perceived as bad into brand and innovative products of great patronage.
Positive mindset! The gateway for peace, love, godliness and productivity. With a positive mind (A mind that recycles) Nothing becomes insurmountable and nothing is seen from a negative slant.
From a rose coloured lenses, life challenges, difficulties, shame, disappointment etc are seen. It is always half full, not empty, to a mind that recycles, even though the two may look the same, but the mindset that processes them are not very different.
Jarlathuche@gmail.com
