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| Mark 14:9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
In Mark 14:3-9 Mary exhausted a year's worth of wages in the form of ointment on the Lord Jesus. It was an extraordinary act that did not go unnoticed. Unfortunately, it was noticed by people who did not applaud her for her act of generosity, and, in fact, misunderstood and even complained about it. Judas led the other disciples in characterizing what Mary had done as a waste. I think it's very instructive that Jesus, on the other hand, said that it was a good work and that what she had done should be and would be kept in memory for the ages.
What motivated Mary? First of all it was love. You wouldn't spend a year's salary on someone you do not love. The second thing that motivated her was her faith. The Bible says she did this looking towards the Lord's burial. The third thing you can take away from this story is the overwhelming sense of gratitude. Yes, she loved the Lord Jesus and believed what he said, but this was an extraordinary act that was the result of an extraordinary gift. Namely, Jesus had raised her brother from the dead. This lady had something huge about which to be thankful. So she was motivated by gratitude.
What about Judas? Despite all his pious talk, he complained under the guise of advocacy for the poor. Not that he cared for the poor, but he was a thief and held the bag. Although no one knew that except for Jesus. Here's a man who was a professional. He wasn't motivated by love for the Lord Jesus. He wasn't motivated by faith. Perhaps he expected Jesus to establish some great kingdom and make him the secretary of the treasury. And perhaps this very incident made it clear to him that Jesus was working on different priorities than he was.
Now here's the takeaway. You can't be motivated by greed and gratitude at the same time. Stop and think about you've been given. We tend to be consumed by what we can get. You know the story reminds us of a very important truth. A person wastes his life if he is motivated by what he can get, but he invests his life when he's motivated by what he has been given. God has given us much. Let's be mindful, thankful, and let's invest what he has given to us to steward.
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