Nov 5

Why this Waste?

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany and they gave a dinner for him there...Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. But Judas Iscariot said, “Why this WASTE? Why was this ointment not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?”

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.

(Jn. 12; Lk. 10:41-42)

As Carly and I have found ourselves steeped in some of the most monotonous tasks these last few weeks preparing the house (chasing down electricians & plumbers, scrubbing toilets & floors, killing gigantic spiders that very rudely seem to believe they can make a home in our house, the list goes on!), we have sometimes found ourselves asking the question: “Wait a minute, why am I here again?”

When a street boy we’ve poured much time into runs away to a different city and we fear never seeing him again…when we can’t complete daily tasks, struggling to find anyone that will treat us fairly despite our white skin…when we hear someone say, “you’re smart – couldn’t you find nice jobs & do such nice things living in America?” or “why did you get this house if all you’re doing right now is filling it with prayer? Why start so small- why not begin with large programs and make it grow fast?” When some of our favorite boys tell us they don’t want our friendship or show no gratitude for our efforts for them, it’s tempting to ask like Judas did, “Why this WASTE?” Am I just wasting the “best years” of my life away in Africa…?

They say that the perfume Mary poured out was worth $20,000 – it was her dowry; it was her past, present, and her future. IF Jesus really loved her, couldn’t He have stopped her and said, “Mary, please don’t get caught up in the moment” or “Mary, you’re not thinking of your long-term future here”? The more we dive into our Revelation study with the older boys & look at the world around us, however, we have begun to wonder, what if Mary was thinking of her long-term future?

When Isaiah tells us that there’s coming a day in which “the earth shall be utterly empty & plundered” and “as with the slave, so with his master; as with the buyer so with the seller” (or as with the poor African, as with the rich American, as we emphasize to the boys), we have to wonder, what IS “long-term” anyways? When Jesus tells us not to be impressed by things like buildings in front of us or a certain “super-power” (what the boys call America) that may be powerful one day and weak the next, when James tells us that our life is “but a vapor”, or when Paul says what is seen is temporary and in reality, actually fading away, how ARE we supposed to live? (Mk. 13; Jas. 4:14; 2 Cor. 4:18; 1 Cor. 7:31; 2 Pet. 3:11)

When economies crash, “super powers” rise and fall, or people we’re serving come and go, Jesus said that “the WORD of the Lord remains forever” (1 Pet. 1:25) Jesus’ word to Mary was “what you have chosen will NOT be taken away from you”.

Jesus’ words tell me that whatever I do unto the least of these, I have done it unto Him, and I will “surely not” lose my reward. Jesus’ words tell me that if everything that I know now is stripped away from me as it someday will be, I cannot lose Him and the reward for even the smallest of things (even a cup of cold water!) I have done for Him in this life.

A man named Mike Bickle has said, “You don’t have an option whether or not you will waste your life – you won’t have ANYTHING in the end. You only have a decision as to HOW you will waste your life.” Jesus said that we will not perish (a word which can also mean “be wasted”) if we “believe in Him”. (Jn. 3:16) Believe in me, He says, and your life won’t be wasted.

America’s riches won’t last forever, we tell the boys…Mugabe’s cruel reign in next-door Zimbabwe won’t last forever – someday every king must give account to the King of Kings who is above every rule and authority we see right now with our physical eyes. You can’t run away to America to solve your problems or grab onto a riches or power to fix your life – that sand will sink someday and you must grab onto something more substantial. “But YOU, the ones who held tight to God, your God, are alive and well today…” (Dt. 4:4 MSG) Grab hold of JESUS, we say, take hold of a kingdom that can’t be shaken!!! (Heb. 12:28)

I once heard it said that the amount of money Joseph lavished upon Jesus when giving him a burial was worth five times as much as Mary’s alabaster jar. I was faced with the question: “Which ended up being worth more to Jesus? Twenty thousand dollars given to Jesus BEFORE He died, or one hundred thousand dollars given to Jesus AFTER He died?” Surely now is the time to trade in “what we cannot keep” to gain “what we cannot lose” as Jim Eliot said. When I think of Mary standing there at the foot of the cross, I bet any doubt in her mind, “Was that a waste? Should I have not given SO MUCH to Him? Was that wise thinking?” , vanished COMPLETELY.

When the day comes in which every knee MUST bow, when we no longer have alabaster jars to give Him, I only pray that we would have no regrets. Living a life of no regrets is a prayer we pray not only for these boys, but for ourselves as well. When every valley is raised up & every mountain is made low, when the rich and the poor have equal status in eternity, and when Jesus finishes shaking everything that can be shaken, may we be ones, like Mary, that have “chosen what is better.” Thank you, Jesus, we pray – that our lives won’t be wasted! (Ps. 25:3)

Valerie