Skip to main content

The Reason We Have And The Ones We Give


  It was an injustice to the poor. It was a waste of resources. It was a selfish act of indulgence.

  When a woman took a vial of costly perfume and dumps it on the feet of Jesus, Judas is indignant. As the odor fills the room so does his outrage. (John 12:3-4) The other disciples agree with him, “Why the waste”?(Matthew26:8)

  It seems he has the moral high ground. How could you not care about the poor! If that was all that was said you might think he was right

  But he wasn’t.

  Jesus clearly dismisses these charges. What she did was appropriate for the time. Her good thing isn’t a slight to anyone but a sign of the love she had for her Lord. She shouldn’t be scolded she should be remembered. They would have a chance later to help the poor but they only had that moment to revere Him.

  Many people make arguments like Judas. They get on a high horse to make a case that takes a good that others do and tries to twist it into a perceived slight to someone. It may sound noble but it isn’t. The noble-sounding reason isn’t the truth on the matter.

  For Judas, this rant wasn’t out of his heartfelt concern for the poor but a manifestation of his own greed (John 12:6). Often you will find the same thing when others attack those that do good. Their outrage has very little to do with the reason they give and much more with the reason they hide.

  Jesus warned us about those that dress in sheep clothes but are really hidden wolves (Matthew 7:12). Don’t just listen to what they say but examine what they do and why they do it. Their fruits will say a lot more than their words. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Does A Lion Tamer Use a Chair?

  Ok, I know you have seen the image. A lion tamer enters in the cage of the beast and forces it to obey his commands using a whip, a gun and a chair. Now you can see how the whip and gun could come in handy but you might be wondering why a chair would intimidate an animal as powerful as a lion? Clyde Beatty taming a lion with a chair   It's not that the lion is afraid of the chair -- it's that the lion is confused by the chair. Cats are single-minded, and the points of the chair's four legs bobbing around confuse the lion enough that it loses its train of thought. Casually put, the chair distracts the lion from wanting to claw the lion tamer's face off. The powerful creature could destroy the chair in moment’s notice but instead it is distracted into submission.  It’s not too much different than how Satan controls us today. By the power of God we could overcome anything that he would use to subdue us. We can overcome the evil one (1 st John 2:13-14). ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Right to Arm Bears

  In the book of 2 nd Kings 2, we have one of the most unusual, violent and curious passages in scripture. It involves the prophet Elisha siccing a couple of bears on some kids that were mocking his bald head.    As a guy that is a little light on top that has been around some surly kids, I can feel for the guy. But seriously a bear attack? On kids? What is going on? ….young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!"  When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. 2 nd Kings 2:23-25  It might help to explore the passage a bit more. The baldhead statement: This was an identifying mark of the prophet as opposed to Elijah who was hairy (1st Kings 1:8) a jab to say you are not him. The taunt to go up: Elijah has just been taken into heaven by the Lord a sight seen by ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Mighty Gulf

  It is hard to get people on two sides of an issue to come together. Each has their own viewpoint, their perceptive, their own foibles, their own understanding.  To gain any common ground there must be something in common. Something or someone that can bridge the gulf between the two.   Could there be a greater gulf than there was between God and man? How could a holy perfect God find a way to connect to the fallen, imperfect mankind? How can one without temptation connect to those who are beset by it? How could limited mortal beings understand an omnipotent eternal God?   In 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, “ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus .” The phrase mediator here describes a person that bridges the gap, a go-between. Jesus was one who could stand in both worlds. A perfect holy one who can understand our temptations, a man who would die yet live eternally, One who was God yet became flesh and dwelt among us. ...
Post a Comment
Read more