There they made Him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Him. 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. Then saith one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray Him. Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 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. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of My burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but Me ye have not always. John, Chapter 12, verses 2-8.
Judas chastises Mary for doing something good when he really had ulterior motives. He really wanted the money for himself. How many times do we have ulterior motives but sound very self-righteous to others?
I know eating was one of the subtle ways that I let Satan sneak into my life. You wouldn’t think Satan could have a stronghold on a person with something as seemingly insignificant as eating. Generally, we think about major things like drinking, taking drugs, infidelity, stealing, etc., not eating. Things that seem minor are easier for us “Self-righteous Christians” to let into our lives without noticing how it works a wedge in our relationship with God.
God showed me how important food and my compulsive eating had become when I yelled at my daughter when she was little. She had brought some of her neighborhood friends over and had given them each one of the green Pippin Apples that I had stored in our refrigerator. I yelled at her, telling her that she shouldn’t have given the apples to them because there wouldn’t be enough for the family. Actually, I wasn’t really worried about the family. Those apples were my favorite and I had bought them for me!
I was being a terrible example of my faith! My ulterior motives interfered when I should have been complimenting my daughter for sharing with others. Instead, I was hoarding the apples for myself! It seems silly to have let something as insignificant as apples sneak in between my relationship with my daughter and my faith, but I’m ashamed to say that I did.
Since I've applied this Bible passage to my life, it doesn't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the passage.
This is a connection I've made from this Bible passage. Please
share your connections.
