(Mark 14:3-9 ESV)
This lady came along, and anointed Jesus with an expensive perfume and all they could do was be upset by it. They saw it merely as a financial waste.
It's easy for me to sit in judgement on them, afterall, Jesus himself chided them for their thoughts/actions. But you know what? That could easily have been me sitting there doing exactly the same thing.. seeing the monetary aspect of it all and not seeing what it truly was... a beautiful act of worship toward the living God. She anointed Jesus.. perhaps not knowing that soon he would die.. but Jesus knew he would be and he took as being anointed before burial.
He spoke of how her action would be remembered long after she died, it would be a memorial for her.
How often do we do that?
Sit in judgement.
I remember someone close to me once saying that God isn't present in traditional worship services...that they are old and stagnant and how on earth could God work in such an environment...and how HURTFUL that judgement was. It's not seeing the worship that truly goes on, it's not seeing the hearts of those involved.
It's seeing eyebrows raised when people worship God using their bodies and not just their mouths..and it's like .. what DOES IT MATTER? What matters is .. ARE PEOPLE WORSHIPPING GOD? That is all that matters.
The Doctrine matters, the caring for others matters, but the STYLE of worship DOES NOT MATTER.
This lady chose to worship God by anointing him with oil.
That's all that matters.
Not the finances, not how far it could be made to stretch, not .. well.. anything.
She worshipped God with her heart and it came out in the anointing that she did.
Who are we to sit in judgement of how she worshipped God? She wasn't breaking any commandment, she wasn't putting anyone into danger (like those who think worshipping God means handling deadly snakes), she wasn't being impolite or rude or demanding....she simply worshipped God in a simple action.
It makes me wonder.
If we scold others for how they worship God what are we really doing?
Are we showing the state of our own heart?
Are we showing our very own need to worship God more?
What do you think?