Mark 14: 3 – 7
While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.”
If you are going to walk with Yahweh in the realm of finances, you might as well get ready for some unusual money management directions. In the story above, Jesus not only allowed the woman to “waste” the costly perfume on him, he applauded her. The advice of the disciples to sell the expensive asset is good fiscal wisdom. It is, though, worldly wisdom and worldly wisdom does not always line up with God’s thoughts.
Let me put this account into perspective for you. The disciples estimated that the perfume could have been sold for 300 denarii. One denarius is equal to a day’s wages. Therefore, this jar of perfume represented one person’s wages for an entire year. That’s a lot of money. What would it mean to apply your entire year’s wages to feeding and clothing the poor? You see the impact. In worldly wisdom, it makes complete sense that she should sell the perfume and give the money to the ministry of the poor. Like I said, though, what Jesus would tell you to do with money is often not the same as what worldly counsel would advise. That is why we must receive our counsel from the Lord.
God knows how to multiply money in ways that make no sense to us at all. The world system and God’s system don’t always work on the same principles. So, when God gives you a monetary directive, it will often not align with worldly wisdom. God knows things that the world just does not know yet. He knows how he created His system to work while in the world we are still figuring it out.
The way Dad’s advice usually shakes out is that He tells you to give something away. This is often the case when you are in need. Well, if you are in need, giving your resources away makes no sense at all. Yahweh knows how to multiply though. He wants you to give Him something to multiply.
He also teaches us to tithe. Does that make sense if your budget is tight? Why should I give the church 10% of my income when I don’t have enough money to begin with? Well, for starters, it isn’t your money. It is the money with which God has blessed you. He gave you 100% but He requires 10% to be withheld for the Kingdom and for your own seed.
God’s ways are not our ways, as evidenced by this story. His ways are superior, and they work for those who will obey Him. That is one of the reasons obedience is so important. God doesn’t explain everything He tells you to do. In fact, He explains little. However, if we will follow His instructions, we will end up living in the blessing and we will praise God like David did.