Thirty pieces of silver. That's all it took for Judas to betray the one who had washed his feet, whom he'd witnessed heal, feed and tend the neediest of people, and heard teach about loving enemies and forgiving seventy times seven. Thirty pieces of silver in exchange for Jesus. My grandfather used to say, "People will sell their soul for a quarter." Or their integrity for a kickback, bribe, or better position. Why do we so readily hand over what's priceless for a meager sum of money—or a major sum, for that matter?

While we cannot imagine ourselves as Judas, we should this Lenten season examine how we sell our soul for a quarter, turn over our integrity for a handful of coins, give in to the idolatry of money in ways big and small. We forget to invest in that which moth cannot destroy nor thief steal. We forget that not everything is a commodity that can be bought and sold. We neglect what is truly priceless in our lives, beginning with our own integrity.

excerpted from Lent in Plain Sight (pp. 85-86).