“Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to Him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, ‘Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.’ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to Me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have Me. In pouring this ointment on My body, she has done it to prepare Me for burial.'” Matt. 26:6-12
Devotional Thought For The Day
Things are not always what they appear to be. What struck the disciples as an extravagant waste of resources was actually a deeply reverent act of love. Caring for the poor is a good thing but not necessarily the highest priority. There are times when showing lavish attention to the things that pertain to the worship of God, which express our deep gratitude and reverence for our Savior, is of higher priority than social ministry expenditures. Things are not always what they appear to be, and we certainly cannot always trust the judgment of unbelievers. There will always be some people who find fault with the pious devotion of individual Christians, and who criticize what the church is doing – no matter what the project may be. They believe they know better about the “right” things to be doing, and that somehow they have been elected to supervise and criticize others. Lord, have mercy!
This, unfortunately, is often the case even within the church – and we should note that the indignation expressed over this incident came from the disciples. It is a sad reality that even within the church some people consider it their right and privilege to criticize the giving and service of others. There are two typical dynamics that give rise to this: those who do the “giving” often want to “call the shots,” to have control and to dictate to the church what it is doing, AND those who have very little and would like to see the church “poorer” like they are, more compassionate and serving of the needs of the poor, including themselves. The disciples fell into the latter group; Simon perhaps belonged to the former. Regardless, it is a deeply regrettable reality that such cackling and criticism so often occurs within the life of the church, obstructing many good things that the church is eager to accomplish – whether social ministry efforts or expression of reverence and love for God.
It is part of our sinful nature that we seem naturally critical of the decisions and actions of others – and often feel compelled to voice our criticism and objection, even though the resources being given belong to others, have been given to them by God, and are being given in devotion to and love for God. It is part of our sinful nature to be “miserly” and selfish, fearful that God will not bless our giving and provide us with all that we actually need for life. Part of miserliness within the church is motivated by reluctance to give generously ourselves, because we want to use our resources selfishly without having to feel guilty about some glaring need within the church. Perhaps this hyper-frugality is more common in certain churches [even elevated to the highest good], but the same evil and selfish mentality exists in all sinful hearts. It is the direct opposite of faith and love.
Thankfully, God has not been miserly and “wise” in providing us with forgiveness, life, and salvation. He gave His only-begotten Son into death, as the blood atonement for our sins, and promised that all who believe in Him have everlasting life in His heavenly kingdom – even though the vast majority of mankind rejects the Lord Jesus Christ in impenitence and unbelief, and even though the spiritual maturing and progress of believers is slow and halting. Thankfully God remains patient with us, and accepts and rejoices in whatever acts of devotion and love we engage in. Thankfully, He does not allow the criticisms of the self-appointed “judges” to stand. In fact, as Jesus clearly indicates, the “judges” of others are actually judging themselves. So let us take care in how we evaluate things, for things are not always what they appear to be.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for all that You have done for us in Your great self-sacrifice of redemption. Thank You also for receiving our acts of love and devotion to You, even though our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Preserve us from our temptations to judge the piety and devotion of others, and to oppose what is good. Make Your church to be filled with fruits of faith, and enable us to rejoice in all such fruit. Amen.