And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. Mark 14:3-7 (ESV)
A flask of nard was “very costly.” In fact, a denarius was considered a day’s wage for a laborer, so an entire flask of this was worth about a year of labor. In modern terms, this flask alone was probably worth upwards of $30,000. It wasn’t something that you’d just pour our liberally; no, you’d dab it on yourself. Think of a very, very expensive perfume: one puff, one spray, one dab… you need to make that stuff last for many, many years. And what did she do with it? Did she dab it on the Lord’s head? No, she broke the flask entirely and poured the entire thing over her Master. $30,000 in liquid form just poured out onto the head of one man.
I often read things like this and wonder – am I doing enough? Am I giving enough? Compared to this lady, the answer would be clearly “no.” However, perhaps trying to justify my guilt, I then think to myself, “if what I could give was actually to Jesus, I’d happily give more.”
Right?
If God appeared to you and asked for $30,000, you’d probably sell whatever you have in order to oblige, and you’d do so happily, without hesitation.
But what about giving to a church or a legitimate charity? What about helping out your neighbor who is in a financial strain? Why is that so much harder? Then I remember Matthew 25:31-40 (ESV):
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
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