13:27

It's not a ratio but rather it's a verse from the Holy Bible. My wife and I have this daily habit of reading from the bible before we get out of the house and go to work. Today's passage had a part that was rather surprising. To quote:

John 13:27 - "As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "Hurry and do what you must!"

This is from our bible (Good New Bible, 1995) so I took time to look up what other versions said.

English Standard Version (2001) - Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

New American Standard Bible (1995) - After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly."

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.) - And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

International Standard Version (2008) - After he had taken the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, "Do quickly what you are going to do!"

These are just four of the many kinds of bible one can read but as we can see, everything seems consistent.

We can make make at least two conclusions then. The first is that Judas was not himself when he did what he did. The second is that Jesus knew what was happening as well as what was going to happen. This then begs the question, why didn't Jesus do anything to save Judas? He was after all in the business of saving people.

When I read that particular verse, a lot of conspiracy theories came into my head. As the day went by, I came upon a realization. A simple one at that. In order for the story of Jesus to be fully complete, it has to have a villain. Judas therefore was a perfect fit for the role.

Hero and villain stories are not uncommon. We have Batman and Joker. There's Superman and Lex Luthor. You could also count in Captain America and Red Skull. Spiderman and Green Goblin maybe? We even have that in the Philippines. Who could ever forget Fernando Poe Jr. and Paquito Diaz? How about Mara and Clara?

My point is simple. If we ever want to live a complete life, we need to have a villain. It does not need to be someone who wants world domination. It can be as simple as a person who manages to piss you off everyday.

I believe that the main purpose of having a villain is not to have someone to defeat. Rather it is someone that enables us to look inside ourselves and know that we can always be the better person.

I've met a lot of villains in my life and so far I can proudly say while I have never been able to actually defeat them, I have managed to always be better than them.

So who's the villain in your life?