When people don’t understand our motives, we must focus on pleasing the Lord, not man
MATTHEW 26:7-13
7 a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table.
8 But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, Why this waste?
9 For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”
10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me.
11 For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me.
12 For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial.
13 Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”
From time to time, undeserved criticism is the lot of every Christian. On occasion, it comes when we offer our best to the Lord and our good intentions are misunderstood or even ridiculed by those who should know better. Such an event is described in today’s Scripture reading.
The passage describes a woman who took a bottle of precious perfume and poured it on Jesus’ head as He reclined at the table. There is no record of any great results coming from this loving gesture. No lives were saved, no converts were made, and nothing measurable was obtained. Worse still, the woman was scolded for her actions. Her efforts were viewed as extravagant, unreasonable, and irresponsible. Jesus, however, thought otherwise. The Lord’s commendation for this woman’s loving sacrifice was astonishing. In His mind, it deserved to be memorialized—He said, “What she has done will also be told, in memory of her” (Matt. 26:13 NIV).
We sometimes wonder how much God is noticing our efforts to please Him. At times some of our greatest sacrifices seem to bring nothing but misunderstanding or even criticism from our family members and friends. Voices from others—and even from within our own heart—rise up to condemn us for godly choices that now seem to be incapacitating us.
But Jesus Christ, who knows the depths of our soul, sees and understands the torment we face. He hears the condemning voices of our accusers. When our sacrifices for the heavenly Father make little sense to the inhospitable world around us, it is His voice that will prevail on our behalf.
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