When Jesus was seated at the table in the house of Simon the leper in Bethany, a woman came with an alabaster flask containing the very expensive oil of spikenard. She then broke the flask and poured the costly perfume on His head. (Mark 14:3)
Her actions did not go down well with some of the people who were present for they criticized her and asked, "Why was this perfume wasted? It could have been sold for more than 300 denarii and the money given to the poor." (Mark 14:4)
But Jesus rose to her defense and said, "Leave her alone. Why are you troubling her? She has done a good thing for Me. ...She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burying." (Mark 14:6-8)
This incidence teaches us several things:
1. There will always be critics
There will always be critics and so do not let the fear of criticism stop you from doing what you can to serve the Church which represents the Body of Christ today.
2. People may not understand
People may not understand your motives like the people who were present that day and interpreted her action as wastage of very expensive perfume that could have have been sold and the money used for a seemingly better cause like feeding the poor.
3. Jesus understands your motives
God understands your motives for He says, "I the Lord search the heart and test the mind so that I can give to each person according to their ways the fruit of their actions." (Jeremiah 17:10)
Therefore if you have a good motive, do what you can to serve the Church and trust that God will see your pure motives and reward you the way He rewarded this woman for He said, "Surely, I tell you that wherever this gospel will be preached in the world, this woman's actions will also be recounted as a memorial to her" (Mark 14:9)
This has surely come to pass because here we are more than 2000 years after it has happened and we are still telling her story.
In conclusion, know that there will always be critics and so decide from a pure motive what you will do to serve the Church, which as I said represents the Body of Christ, and then just do it anyway.
