Matthew 26:14-16

Matthew 26:14-16 
English Standard Version (ESV)

 Go ahead, pick your scandal of 2018. It seems as though countless powerful people have fallen from grace, some toppled by the courageous women who come forward and face their abusers, while others have fallen as the depth of their hubris has finally been revealed. 
  Sadly, if you went back to them in their earlier years, when they were first starting out, most of them would never imagine that such a thing could happen to them.  Sure, they understood that they'd be tempted, but they probably suspected that their ideals and values would help them navigate the ethical minefields they would face.  Few could have predicted what the future would look like.
  I'm sure Judas didn't start to follow Jesus with the thought that he would betray him one day.  It was an idea that grew in him like a weed, until one day it took over and destroyed his life.
  So how do we avoid a similar fate?  Community, community, community.  Find someone who knows you well,  and I mean really well -- is there someone in your life (not a spouse, in my opinion) to whom you are completely accountable, to whom you're willing to share your weaknesses and temptations, who will be in prayer for you and who you trust completely?  Find that person -- and set up a pattern of mutual confession, where you can be honest about what you're celebrating and struggling with, and you can grow together.
  The biggest things we struggle with thrive in the darkness. Like secrets, they grow and grow in power the fewer people know about them.  Expose them to the light.