How We Become Judas, Little by Little

We often imagine the fall of Judas Iscariot as a sudden, dramatic event, a moment where evil seized his heart and he sold his Master for silver. But the reality is far more insidious and far more dangerous for us. As Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, warns, Judas changed “little by little, without any real clear-cut reason.” He did not wake up one morning and decide to betray Jesus; he drifted there, unnoticed, through a series of small compromises.

Father Chris uses the cautionary tale of the “frog in the pot” to illustrate this spiritual danger. If you place a frog in boiling water, it jumps out immediately. But if you place it in cold water and slowly turn up the heat, the frog adapts to the rising temperature until it is too late to escape. We do not need to test this theory to understand its spiritual truth. We can become like Judas through the slow, imperceptible corruption of our souls. It starts with neglecting the small duties of love: skipping time with a spouse, ignoring a parent, or failing to pray. For religious, it begins with missing Mass or skipping the Divine Office.

These small omissions seem harmless in isolation. “I’m just tired,” we say. “I’ll pray tomorrow.” “I’ll call my mother next week.” But as St. Thomas Aquinas taught, virtue and vice are formed by habit. Every choice moves us slightly closer to God or slightly further away. When we neglect the small things, we weaken our spiritual muscles. We lose the capacity to resist the larger temptations that follow. The path to betrayal is paved with these tiny, seemingly insignificant decisions.

Father Chris reminds us that we must be vigilant. We must watch our thoughts, our words, and our actions, because they shape our character, and our character determines our eternity. Do not wait for a crisis to force you to return to prayer. Do not wait for a major sin to seek reconciliation. The time to turn down the heat is now. Reclaim the small duties. Honor your family. Pray with consistency. Guard your heart against the slow, silent drift that leads to spiritual death.