Waste

Waste?

We were all born with talents, skills and desires. Sometimes we don’t catch those desires or talents right away. We grow into them. We see our desires grow at school during our first practice or after a encouraging talk with a teacher. Some find our talents outside the classroom. We find ourselves in the back yard picking up trash or helping a homeless man under the city bridge. Some even see their passion in their instrument as they learn their notes and grooves. We all have something to offer, I think we can all agree with that. I also believe whether big or small our gifts or talents to people may be, it is a valuable tool for something.

But what we desire to do with that, how we perceive our gifts and how we conduct ourselves with those gifts means everything. There is no doubt in my mind that someone with their talent will either give beauty or wickedness as their mark before his/her last breath is taken. “But John, how you defy beauty is not the same way I do, nor your definition of wickedness mine.”–I can agree that, we may have different perceptions so I will not base it on what I think or feel; I will base it on something concrete. I will base it on the standard on God (the God of the Holy Bible).

God has given us all “abilities” or talents. He has made us. He has designed our eyes, nose, ears, eye lashes, emotions, talents, etc. (Psalms 139:13). What God has given you is yours. You are valuable. No one is like you. As you grow you will build up this valuable gift with time, effort, study, practice. Your gift (talent) is what you are. It is your life, your hope for living and provision.

Quickly look at Matt. 26. It is the story of a women (not named) who came into Simon’s house to see Jesus. She walked in and poured a very expensive, precious ointment on Christ. The response from the disciples was clear. They were upset. They said “Why this waste? We could have sold this and given it to the poor.”(V.8-9) Basically I see this. This women came to Jesus for one thing. To give to Him all that she had. Without this precious perfume she would be another nobody. A regular person with no “value”. She found herself giving her value to Christ. And the world said “what a waste”. The world thinks that if you give Christ your all, your value, your talent, you will waste it. Christ said “For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.” “For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.” I believe Christ was making a fork in the road with this statement. There will always be a need for you to pour your life into the world. It is a vacuum of opportunity and need. There will always be the world. But what they didn’t understand was this. In a couple of days Christ was going to be crucified. He was going to save the world through His obedience to God. This women gave all that she had to Christ and Christ took that to the cross. That perfume was apart of not only a couple of people’s need, but all man’s need. What we think we can do without Christ does not compare to what He will do with it.

So, did she really waste the thing most valuable to her by giving it to Christ. No, she expanded it as far as the east is from the west(Psalms 103:12). If she didn’t give it to Christ. If she sold it and gave the money to the poor, then she would have indeed wasted it!