Wondering if there's such a thing as Wise Generosity

Scripture verse that caught my attention today: Mark 14:5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.

Observation: A woman poured very expensive perfume on Jesus. Some saw the gesture as a waste. Jesus praised the act as beautiful.

Application: There is such a fine line between being generous and being wasteful; there is also a fine line between being a good wise steward and being stingy. Before we hop on the bandwagon of condemnation toward those who didn’t see the beauty in this woman’s gesture, we must also remember that, at times, Jesus suggested an alternative approach. He explained that wise people “count the cost” before building grand buildings and that wise bridesmaids keep enough oil with them to be able to light their lamps when needed. And so, as it says in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, there is apparently a “time for everything.”

More often than not I think humanity errors on the side of being too cautious, too self-serving. Jesus may give some Scriptural nods to being wise, but he also advocates offering everything we have. A poor widow in one of his stories is often lauded in comtemporary culture today for being a prime example of how it really doesn’t matter how much we give. Her two mites (worth about a penny) were enough. Baloney! That’s a horrible misinterpretation of Scripture. To focus on the amount of money she gave is to totally miss the real point of the passage found in the phrase that follows… “out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” That certainly doesn’t seem very wise by modern-day standards. Wouldn’t surprise me if her family thought she had lost her gourds. Same goes for the woman who poured out the ointment in the verse above. Yet Jesus offers praise for each of them.

I guess that means that we all have to figure out for ourselves and with each other how we might best express our thanksgiving to God. Different people will no doubt come up with different answers.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to be wise, be generous, and be rooted in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Job 25 and Mark 13-14)