TITLE:
“Pious Reponses”
SCRIPTURE: John 12: 4-6
[4] But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, [5] “Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages. * ” [6] He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
OBSERVATION:
Every Gospel has an account of a woman anointing Jesus. What amazing, is that they don’t all appear to be the same incidents. Jesus is “anointed for burial” by women who deeply cared for Him and wanted to serve Him. So as Jesus sat at a home in Bethany, Mary came and poured a costly bottle of perfume on his feet. The text says, the “house was filled with the fragrance.” This reminds me that whenever we do something for Jesus, the fragrance of service fills the air!!
This morning, what stood out to me was Judas’ reaction. Rather than supporting Mary’s act of submission, he objected and gave what I call a ‘pious response’ – “Why this waste? The perfume might have been sold and the money given to the poor!!” Here’s the kicker, he said that, not because he cared about the poor, but because he cared about the money!
APPLICATION:
So often religious people have “pious responses.” We hide our hidden motives. We give our ‘reasons’ while harboring resentful thoughts. What about my answers and excuses? How honest and straightforward am I? You see, I don’t think Judas’ biggest problem was his conflicted heart, but rather him trying to hide it. Personally, I’ve been turned off by church people who say the right thing, while thinking and plotting the wrong thing. I never want to be like Judas who tried to “look good”, while only thinking of himself. God would rather have me expose my struggling heart, than ‘fake it’ in order to look spiritual.
PRAYER:
Father, I want to be fully honest with you and others. Forgive me when I’ve tried to cover my mixed motives. Help me to admit my sin and allow you to change my heart. AMEN.
1 comment:
Pertinant observations, this is the first I've read of the "New Hope Blog" and I appreciated the effort you guys put into this. Though I'm aware of mixed motives I've never really put an adequate amount of energy into dissipating the multi-layered nature of my own motives.
It seems a bit of a daunting task, with every action there is a motive; furthermore, alterier motives often mask real ones. To become aware of all my motives quickly becomes insurmountably difficult! Here I guess I must find some form of faith that God will carry my finite attempts with divine purpose. I am finding that is a common place to find myself. Though I hate the difficulty in life, I fear I’d quickly discard God if life was any easier.
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