Tis the season for the return of some familiar holiday characters. Santa (obviously) and his army of elves and reindeer, the Grinch and those energetic Whos, Frosty and his hat, Charlie Brown and gang, and good 'ol Ebeneezer Scrooge. Of all the characters that come out during Christmas, there's one I feel we can really embrace and even emulate with our own lives. And as much fun as it would be to wear giant black hats and pretend to be melting in public places, or to wrap ourselves in a green carpet and steal small children's toys, the character I'm talking about is Ebeneezer himself.
Scrooge, as we all know, was a rich miser who had no heart, even refusing to help poor Tiny Tim who would soon die if Scrooge didn't intervene. Not exactly the kind of guy you want to emulate. That is, until now. Before I explain, let's change topics for a moment, and then tie it all together like some perfectly constructed sugar-cookie knot that's both edible and functional.
Interesting story, right? Mary uses a perfume worth a year's wages (let that sink in a moment) on Jesus' feet, and Judas offers a very, very legitimate counter argument. A year's wages could definitely have been used more effectively from a logic standpoint, and her actions hardly seem like those fitting of a good steward, something we're told to be as Christians. As scripture indicated here and elsewhere, though, Judas' real beef wasn't that he wanted to help the poor, but instead himself. He just covered his heart with a noble, even righteous, argument.
When sin comes, it often appears in all sorts of ways; it begs us, teases us, makes promises to us, entices us, lies to us, challenges our pride, dares us, and sometimes it even appeals to us in the form of righteousness; like an orphan on the street wanting our help and one which appears innocent, but upon closer inspection is just a front for a con. It's this form of sin that can be the hardest to identify at times, and the one that tripped up the Jewish leaders of Christ's era. So much of their sin was covered under the guise of righteousness, but remained sin because of their true hearts, not their actions.
Judas said the right thing in that situation, acting on behalf of a very noble, Christ-like cause, yet he was simply justifying and covering up his twisted, selfish intentions. Don't we do this at times? Don't we try to justify an action, a statement, a thought, an impulse, by using a logic-based, noble-intentioned cover story? Don't we also justify not doing something radical for God by other seemingly-noble reasons? "If I stay up late or get up early for God, I'll be short on sleep which means I'll be less coherent and functional at work, which isn't being a good example to my coworkers of a Christian work-ethic. If I drive to that event, it'll cost me gas, and I'd be better using those funds to pay down that debt I have." That list goes on for miles.
Wasn't this woman wasting money?! Blowing it?! Absolutely. Yet Jesus was honored by this act and defended her, even saying that wherever the Gospel is preached, her story will be told, something we've all witnessed to be true.
Maybe we need to get out of that box of rules that so often defines our walks and realize sincerity is far more important to God than blind obedience. Sometimes we need to be honest with ourselves, and own up to our true hearts instead of pretending to be righteous. Sometimes we need to do radical things for God, where our motive is purely to give Him honor and glory, where He'll be honored even if it's a bit "reckless" from a "being responsible" standpoint. Won't the fire and excitement from that truth, that sincerity, that radical thing carry us through the next day? Won't it override any amount of sacrifice we make? Won't the feeling of being alive in our faith fill us up, much like Christ felt when He fed on spiritual food over actual food? (John 4)
When sin comes begging at that door, acting all pure and innocent and in need, seeking to cover your bad heart with a veil of righteousness, be a Scrooge! Bah humbug that orphan back to the gutter. Be stingy. Be angry. Be the big fat meany you've all wanted to be at times when something or someone is frustrating you. Unleash it all on that sin.
This holiday season, bah humbug your way into Heaven.
Brett "When sin says 'Merry Christmas' to me, I say 'Bah, humbug!' to it, wrap my man-shawl tighter, slam the door, and then stomp upstairs to have some crazy, time-traveling, ghost-filled dreams" Hibbler
great tag-line/middle name!
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