Was It Worth The 30 Pieces of Silver?

I guess we'll find out eventually. 

I seldom have feelings over most elections beyond the local level primarily due to my pro-Black sensibilities and what can be done to positively impact my family and community alike as well as ensure that my ancestors are proud of me, but what happens when we put faith in a system that has continually failed us is a result that looks a lot like Stockholm syndrome. As Black people, we have the tools to be fully self-sufficient [that's the Garveyite in me] yet tap dancing around for a tacit approval reeks of a desperation knowing full well that as long as we receive the butter biscuits and honey, we are lulled into complacency. That being said, athletes, entertainers, and some pastors have no right being anywhere a megaphone due to their misuse of their expansive platforms. Instead of building Black liberation for the larger diverse group, they are content with maintaining the status quo, and those of us who center our existences as the gold standard, are perceived as crazy hoteps.

In the Bible, Jesus talks about Judas betraying him for thirty pieces of silver. Below is the text:

Matthew 26:14-16, 47-50

[14] Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve disciples. He went to the chief priests [15] and asked, “How much will you give me if I help you arrest Jesus?” They paid Judas 30 silver coins, [16] and from then on he started looking for a good chance to betray Jesus.

[47] And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. [48] Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. [49] And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. [50] And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

https://bible.com/bible/392/mat.26.14-50.CEV

Although a physical kiss is not a direct identifier as much today as it was in Jesus's time, the feeling of betrayal remains the same. The actual crime began with a plan (v.14) perhaps because Judas had a need to provide somewhere, or since we do not know the true intentions, his greed got in the way. No one plans this level of treachery alone; therefore, the lone wolf excuse is poppycock at best. Next comes the moment where the selling out occurs: Judas asks the chief priest how much would they give him for helping to arrest Jesus (v. 15). From that moment, the real opps went to work (v. 16): Imagine sending our Lord and Savior to a sham trial and death via crucifixion for what amounted to $441 in 2024 dollars! 

To further explain it, the idiots who were part of a murder for hire scheme to kill the late rapper Young Dolph were originally promised $60K yet they were rumored to have received $800 apiece. Even going further back in time, the informant who gave the Chicago PD and the FBI all of the information necessary to execute Black Panther Fred Hampton was compensated a pittance for double crossing the icon.

But back to the lesson at hand.

As Jesus was speaking, Judas came through with a whole clique of folks behind him (v. 47) being messy. For what he was trying to do, he didn't need a whole lot of people to witness goon behavior for occur but sadly, that's what happened. A number of you could attest to finding out a conversation which was supposedly in confidence was on speakerphone for a room full of folks to listen to for something - rather anything - that can incriminate the person on the receiving end of that phone call: Same idea, same principle. Verse 48 details the method of the setup. While we know when people start acting really funny around as if they have an ulterior motive to profit from, it does not preclude them from changing their minds because the takedown is the ultimate prize to them. In his mind, Judas got what he wanted, and the Pharisees and Saducees alike have the one who has consistently left egg on their faces in their custody (vv. 49, 50).

I didn't have to go further into verses 47-50 for the reason that we are familiar with the Holy Week and all that transpired yet they share a parallel to recent events. 

Wait, there's more! What else cost thirty pieces of silver?

Below, in Zechariah 11:4-17 is what thirty pieces of silver got the Shepherd:

Zechariah 11:4-17 CEV

[4] The Lord my God said to me: Tend those sheep doomed for slaughter! [5] The people who buy and butcher them go unpunished, while everyone who sells them says, “Praise the Lord! I'm rich.” Not even their shepherds have pity on them. [6] Tend those sheep because I, the Lord, will no longer have pity on the people of this earth. I'll turn neighbor against neighbor and make them slaves of a king. They will bring disaster on the earth, and I'll do nothing to rescue any of them. [7] So I became a shepherd of those sheep doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep dealers. And I gave names to the two sticks I used for tending the sheep: One of them was named “Mercy” and the other “Unity.” [8] In less than a month, I became impatient with three shepherds who didn't like me, and I got rid of them. [9] Then I said, “I refuse to be your shepherd. Let the sheep that are going to die, go on and die, and those that are going to be destroyed, go on and be destroyed. Then let the others eat one another alive.” [10] On that same day, I broke the stick named “Mercy” to show that the Lord had canceled his agreement with all people. [11] The sheep dealers who saw me knew at once that this was a message from the Lord. [12-13] I told them, “Pay me my wages, if you think you should; otherwise, forget it.” So they handed me my wages, a measly 30 pieces of silver. Then the Lord said, “Throw the money into the treasury.” So I threw the money into the treasury at the Lord's temple. [14] Then I broke the stick named “Unity” and canceled the ties between Judah and Israel. [15] Next, the Lord said to me, “Act like a shepherd again—this time a worthless shepherd. [16] Once more I am going to let a worthless nobody rule the land—one who won't care for the strays or search for the young or heal the sick or feed the healthy. He will just dine on the fattest sheep, leaving nothing but a few bones.” [17] You worthless shepherd, deserting the sheep! I hope a sword will cripple your arm and blind your right eye.

https://bible.com/bible/392/zec.11.4-17.CEV

Was the bag worth it? 

For some who do not understand the gravitas of the situation, does the almighty dollar direct all of your decisions? What happened to solid ethics and prayer, or were they purchased by the US government for $1400? For some, those fourteen Ben Franklins covered one month's rent or mortgage depending on timing into the market; some Arkansans, it covered sales tax on a $21,000 car (ask me how I know); or provided a cushion as a bridge across perilous times? I lived through the Bush tax cuts of 2003, so trust me when I say the payback is more than the illusion of come up.

Don't get me started on the businesses and nonprofits who did not need the money yet received those PPP loans anyway and managed to get those loans forgiven without recompense. 

Lastly, Mosaic law states who gets thirty pieces of silver and under which circumstances. Exodus 21:32 details those terms below:

Exodus 21:32 CEV

[32] If the bull kills a slave, you must pay the slave owner 30 pieces of silver for the loss of the slave, and the bull must be killed by stoning.

https://bible.com/bible/392/exo.21.32.CEV

Matter of fact - and if the USA ever was truly a Judeo-Christian nation, Exodus 21 details how to treat the enslaved in all facets which it failed miserably. Even when religion is coded into law and policy decisions, it often is immoral for a number of people. You'd be appalled at some of what the lowercase chrisitans deem as right and infallible in comparison to what is written even in the King James Version once you begin to read the entire chapter for context beyond beating someone over the head with a Word that at best is practiced inconsistently. Next door in Oklahoma, we are aware of the Native Americans' recompense for being forcefully moved via Trail of Tears and other ways of expulsion, but how AND why were the lone Black survivors of the Tulsa Race Riots denied reparations by the state, Tulsa County, and yes, even the federal government as the term is defined to be made whole from an injurious act?

What do we do, and where do we go?

For far too long, Black Americans have been the conscience - rather, the mirror - to a nation that seeks to minimize if not outright deny our the impact, and the mainstream clearly dislikes that brand of honesty. This is why the third Monday in January has been so heavily whitewashed and sanitized to a palatable truth that reduced Brother Martin to a mere soundbite. This is also why the entire South and much of the nation is trying to prevent those uncomfortable truths from being taught in schools as if social media platforms such as my own won't get the educating across to multiple generations who either do not know, need to know, or feign ignorance throughout February. We know what is coming; do you?

The prejudices of 65% of Arkansans is going to cause a number of blessings to be missed on their parts. My advice: Stop hiding behind the words "economic anxiety" when you know full well we all can get money, and all they are doing is proving their racism. Truth is, they don't want to see ME eat, reap the rewards of my intellectual labor, or enjoy not having to hustle backwards for table scraps.

For me, Black liberation looks like the ability to provide the best life possible for the two under my roof via leading by example and of course, minding my own Black-ass business. In this season, we see that some of our so-called allies chose to maintain their own comfort zones as we welcomed them into our lives, homes, and what was the proverbial - and in some cases, literal cookout as long as they left the potato salad with the raisins in it at home. Those pearls, blue painted fingernails, and Chuck Taylors were all performative bits once again if the actions did not match the intentions; we saw this sordid film play out four years ago when the same people used black boxes during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, and once again, it looks to be a sequel. 

Don't ask for squat when times get hard: I got smoke for everybody.

After nearly 250 years, this nation finally got what it deserves, and it might resemble Babylon. 

Those same christians (again, I'm using the lowercase version) who are trying to legislate their very bland, extremely inauthentic parody of the faith are about to find out firsthand that actions indeed have consequences. The FAFO phase is still in discovery, and as 47 loads up the box with this clown car of charlatans we realize that the same folks have won the battle yet they absolutely lost the war. How? No one respects their witness meaning they are no better than loud clanging cymbals that make no music. Their voices now are instantly identified with the hypocrites of the day, and for some who rocked WWJD bracelets back in the day, it is an embarrassing about-face today. One thing that God gave us is the free will to reason: Introducing a WASPy version of American Christianity that sanitizes further the parts that parishioners do not want to hear is not true Christianity, and it misses the point of the religious freedom this country was founded upon. When the Sermon on the Mount is poo-pooed on by members, the country club worshippers have lost the plot in favor of an Anglicized version of prosperity gospel. 

Looking like the church is NOT being the church

Everyone sees them, and they look like the emperor without any clothes. What kind of business are they standing on?

Was it worth the thirty pieces of silver?