To Give Or To Get

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Text: Mark 14:3-5
3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. 4 Then saith one of hig disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon 's son, vollich should betray him, 5 was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6 This he said, not that he cared For the poor; but because a thief, and had the bag, and bare )what was put therein.

Among the disciples of Jesus, at least two attitudes toward the death of Jesus were manifested. These two attitudes were articulated in the actions of Mary and Judas Iscariot. Jesus had told them that the Son of man would be killed by the religious leaders of the nation. Immediately, Mary started thinking of what to give to Jesus as her last homage to a man who had mercifully forgiven her. On the other hand, Judas Iscariot began to think of what to get from Jesus as compensation to himself for holding the office of a treasurer and finishing the tenure without anything to show for it It was like when he saw that the perfume's price had eluded him that he went and sold Jesus to get the money (Mark 14:10-11; Matt. 26:15).

To express her gratitude, Mary celebrated Jesus with expensive perfume of spikenard. Jesus even remarked that it was for his burial that she had done it (Mark 14:8; John 12:7). On his ov.n part, Judas expressed his avarice by protesting against lavishing the perfume on Jesus instead of selling it and helping the poor with the proceeds. John immediately remarked that he didn't protest because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and wanted to take advantage of his position as the treasurer to help himself to it (John 12:6).
Our attitude to Jesus and the church should always be to give instead of seeing the church programmes and projects as opportunities to make gains. Think onshat to give to Jesus and not what to take from Jesus. Do not reward yourself, but allow God to reward you. People may have forgotten your sacrifice and suffering for God, but God has not forgotten them. He will reward you. Watch out and wait for His reward.

Mark 14:5-8
5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundredpence, and given to the poor? 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. 7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. 8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.

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In a broader perspective, the poor include the indigent and any person who is in need of what he cannot afford. In this context, poverty is seen as need. If this is the case, everybody is poor because everybody has a need or needs. It is not a matter of having enough money. The point is that it is not everything that money can buy. The rich also cry. In the words of Jesus, we have the poor always, or we have the needy always, or we have needs always.

Therefore, attending to the needs of the poor should never stop us from paying attention to Jesus. Worship and generosity go together When we give to God, we are worshipping Him. When we give to the poor, we are meeting needs. Jesus loves the poor and wants us to care for them, but we have to know that Jesus is not the poor and is not poor. The point here is not whether Jesus was a poor man or a rich man when He was here on earth. The point is that He differentiated Himself from the poor: "For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always," v. 8.

Christ here has made two points. One is that we have the poor with us always and must always help them. The greatest challenge today is to help the needy and the poor. Don't wink at them or pretend you don't see them. The second point is that we don't have Him always, and so each time we are privileged to have Him, we must attend need. What is the need of Jesus? Worship. This worship includes praising Him, praying to Him, winning sinners to Him, giving money to Him or to His work.
The challenge before you is how to balance the equation, not just in concept but much more in action. Help the poor today and onward, and also do something for Jesus or for your Church.