We should love and serve both God and humanity.

Scripture: Read John 12: 1-8


Key vs 8: “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

Have you heard the first part of the key verse used to justify poverty? After all, Jesus said it! Sadly, poverty and its effects seem to be a reality of our human condition of selfishness, lack of empathy and just plain “don’t care” attitude. Judas’ point about a better use of the money makes sense, until we know the rest of the story and realize his motive.

Balance is a big issue with me. The older I get, the more it seems that God created balance in all things: light/dark, good/evil, left/right, up/down, etc. Since God gave us freedom of choice, it makes “motive” in our choices very important. We must balance not only what is good, but what might be better or best. Mary’s choice was the best at the time. Jesus was shown the love and adoration he so badly needed. That makes Jesus’ statement about the poor understandable. They can be cared for after he is gone.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 tells us that there is a time for every matter under heaven.

It is right and our duty to be concerned with the poor, just as it is our right and privilege to worship and praise our Lord. Let us not be too critical of actions until we have more information about motives. Let us be sure that we examine and balance our own motives to the glory of God.
Prayer: Loving God, we need you! The world can be a harsh place for many. You know our hearts and motives, and that we often have good intentions but fail to act on them. Help us to balance our devotion to you with the needs of your people. Amen. Let it be.
Thought for the day: We should love and serve both God and humanity.

Margaret Sherrill