Read Matthew 26:6-13
Be Faithful! Not Judgmental!
Jesus and his disciples were in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper. While they were there, a woman came to him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume. She poured it upon his head as he reclined at the table and the disciples were indignant when they saw this. They said, “Why this waste? This perfume could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”
Jesus’s response was not the same as the disciples. In fact he complimented her. He told them, “Do not bother her, for she has done a good deed to me.” “For when she poured this perfume upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.”
As I meditate on what really happened here, I find myself feeling humbled, ashamed, and even broken in Spirit.
This woman saw something about Jesus that the disciples didn’t see. She saw him as a man who would die for a cause and she prepared him for burial with this perfume. Not the cheap stuff but with the really good stuff because he’s worth it.
Jesus saw her act of kindness as a very good thing. He was so touched by what she did that he said, “Wherever the Gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done shall also be spoken of in memory of her.”
The disciples seemed to be a little self-righteous in their response and judgmental towards the woman. Sometimes I feel like the Judgemental people do a lot of talking but very little action. How concerned were they really about the poor? It’s a very righteous question, but if put to the test, I wonder how much they really have invested in the poor with their money, their possessions, or their time?!?
They missed the heart of this woman. They missed her investment and time invested for this act of kindness toward Jesus. They missed the insight she had on what was really going on with Jesus and his cause.
I wonder how in tune we are with Jesus and our surroundings? Are we quick to be judgmental towards others while we miss opportunities that are right before us to touch the lives of others for Jesus. We can teach others from the Bible on all these righteous things that could be done. But we’re missing something. This woman’s heart had to have been broken to do what she did for Jesus. I put a $1.75 in the Salvation Army Kettle. Did my heart break for those lives it would touch? Was my heart thinking of those who are broken and their needs. I mean, I’m glad I gave, I’m just wondering does my heart break for Jesus and the needs around me like it did with this woman. And I feel like it’s these people whose hearts are broken who are doing so many things for Jesus that nobody recognizes. And they get judged for what others perceive they are doing while God is looking at their heart and saying I will remember this forever!!! My heart is broken, but not because of my successes but because of my failures.
Help me be faithful and not judgmental.
