Leave Her Alone

ByJim Stephens

Scripture: John 12:1-11 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a small fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. 7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” (John 12:4-8 NLT)

Judas said what several people in the room were probably thinking: “That is not good stewardship of finances! We could have helped hundreds of poor people with the money that perfume would have brought!” And if Judas was a thief and Jesus knew it, why did Jesus put him in charge of the group’s finances? And why didn’t Jesus do something about it? And if Judas didn’t care for the needs of the poor, why did Jesus even let him be a disciple? It doesn’t look like Jesus ran a very tight ship!

I’m not normally a very extravagant person. I was raised in poverty by a Dad and Mom whose economics were shaped by the Great Depression, and who had a distinctly “poor people” attitude about money. They had never had enough money, and their attitude was that there would probably never be enough money, so it was sinful at some level to buy expensive rather than cheap things, to buy new rather than used things, to “waste” anything under any conditions, and to throw things away because, “we’ll need it someday!” But, for the record, I’m making progress!

Jesus said, “Leave her alone! She’s done a better thing than she or you or anyone else in the room realizes!” Here’s some thoughts:

  • It’s important to share what we have with those who have less.
  • Jesus doesn’t pay a lot of attention to money. In his economy, money really doesn’t have a lot of intrinsic value. It’s what you do with it.
  • Jesus probably never had a savings account or a retirement plan.
  • It’s good to be extravagant sometimes, because it can help break the bondage of thinking that money is what really matters most.
  • The best kind of extravagance is the kind that blesses someone else!
  • What are your thoughts about money, stewardship, and extravagance?

Prayer:

Father, Please teach me true values! Teach me when extravagance is the best thing and when careful stewardship and management is best. And give me faith for both!