GOD BEFORE MONEY

Jesus made no bones about the fact that money can take man away from God. Jesus said that man cannot serve both God and money and the rich would find it hard to enter the kingdom of God. Yet, it would be a mistake to assume that as a rule, money should all be given away for the perceived needs around us. Mark traces this story of Mary, who anointed Jesus,

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.  The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.  Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Mark 14:3-9)

On first thought, the comment that the jar of perfume could have been sold to feed the poor sounds very noble. Yet, it is still a money-centric thought where money is considered all-important. It is interesting that those who made the comment immediately went on to rebuke her harshly, which signifies a thought process, where pride took precedence, worship was distant and condemnation easy. But Jesus admonishes them and directs them back to a God-centric view, wherein nothing takes precedence over the fact that God needs to be worshipped. And Jesus goes to state that Mary, by anointing him, had done an act worthy of being immortalized because she took all she had and gave it to the One who alone mattered. 

Society often oscillates between a capitalist and a socialist viewpoint. The former encourages freedom to create wealth, but can end up with wide disparities as the greed for money takes hold. The socialist philosophy curbs freedom and attempts to equitably distribute wealth, but the greed for power stifles the society and eventually benefits only a select few in power. Both often end up being money-centric, which is rebellion against God. What matters eventually is the extent to which society can adopt a God-centric view, where money is seen as a resource from God to be spent to honor God above all else.

Mary was able to appreciate the right place of money because her heart was right before God and she saw Jesus as the Savior worthy of worship. Loving God before all else puts everything else in perspective, including money.

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