Indignant or Furious

   Indignant: a feeling, characterized, or expressing strong displeasure at something...

   In Matthew 26, Jesus is at a dinner hosted by a local man, and where Jesus went, his disciples went also. I guess when you invited the Master to dinner, you got the entourage also. Anyway, in the middle of all the festivities a woman comes in and pours an expensive perfume on His head. Matthew records the next part of the story:

   "But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste?  For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”

   The Message translates these verses in this way:

   " When the disciples saw what was happening, they were furious. "That's criminal! This could have been sold for a lot and the money handed out to the poor."

   Regardless of the translation, we get the idea; the disciples were upset. "Uh oh, Jesus must have not been aware of the true consequences of his acceptance, it is up to us to set Him straight and make sure this kind of thing does not happen again. How could he have done such a thing? Maybe we had better watch more closely."

    I look at this incident from the viewpoint of 2,000 years and I think, "how could these men who have followed Him for 3 years have felt this way?" Surely I would have done better.

   Were the disciples that concerned about the poor? I can't remember any times in the Gospels were it speaks of Jesus or the disciples handing out money to the poor. Perhaps people gave money to them to live off of, because it says that Judas kept the bag, and even dipped his hand in sometimes, but how it was taken in or spent, I don't know.

   Do others look at us Christians and say "what a waste of (time, money), there are better purposes to use that". Am I willing to look foolish in the eyes of those around me, because I see the higher purpose in some actions?

   Am I indignant or furious at others around me, because they do not fit into my mold, because they do not perceive what I know to be right? Do I really sense the heart of God or just trust to my own ideas?

   Perhaps, a closed mouth and an open mind is the wiser course.