Worship is a Waste

Matthew 26:6-13 | NIV

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

This woman teaches us a beautiful lesson on worship—one the disciples had yet to learn. 

The disciples seemed to believe that the best way to worship God was by ministering to others. And while God absolutely cares about how we treat our neighbor, there’s something even more important about the nature of worship to behold here. 

Follow me…

True worship gives something to God that cannot be returned to honor or bless ourselves. 

True worship is a gift given wholly to God and to no one else—not even to our own ego or sense of self-righteousness. It has no additional agenda or hidden motive. True worship simply has nothing to gain from the gift it gives.

On the other hand, worshipping with one eye on God and the other on ourselves causes self-consciousness, anxiety, fear, perfectionism, depression and can be exhausted much more quickly.

Moreover, when worship is given this way, we will never be fully satisfied in the gift. Our own fractured heart creates a barrier between us and God and any worldly benefit we gain is hollow.

The disciples wrongly called this woman’s worship a “waste” because they failed to see the larger scope of worship in this moment.

It’s true, the perfume was a precious and extremely valuable resource that undoubtedly could have been used for many good purposes—even Kingdom purposes.

But there was something even more important than that at stake...

In all likelihood, this woman was a prostitute. And if so, she would have used this perfume as an essential asset to her business. She would have used this perfume most of her life to benefit herself—to enhance her reputation, to grow her clientele, to maintain the status quo in her industry. Without it, her career and financial security would vanish.

She knew she couldn’t possibly use this gift in any way that would credit her honor—that’s what she had been doing. But now, she was done with her old life and there was no turning back. The jar had to be broken.

It wouldn’t have been worship without the waste.

And Jesus took immense delight in her act of love. He knew that of all people in that room, she was the only one who “got it”—the greatest act in the Kingdom of God is wasted love.

If I may get practical for a moment—it’s very difficult in our current church model to give Jesus singular affection.

Talking specifically about praise teams—there’s always a camera, an audience, a stage, a photo that is directed at us. It’s nearly impossible to have both eyes fixed on Jesus without concern for self.

Are there moments where our ministry is for the service of others? Of course.

But we must find ways to practice wasteful worship:

To give with no one is looking. 

To sing or play when no one can hear you. 

To consume the Word without posting about it.

Maybe for some of you...

To write a great song that you never release. What if it was just for Him?

What a beautiful waste this would be.

Here's the good news.

God recycles.

It’s true that pure worship simply has nothing to gain from the gift it gives—at least not from others.

But the beautiful mystery is, when pure worship is given, we are blessed. Because worship is what we were created for.

After all, worship is a response to genuine love. And when love is whole, pouring out is a simultaneous refueling. 

God’s delight alone satisfies us.

So however you choose to “waste” it, find ways to worship in such a way as to only hear the words of Jesus in response, 

“You have done a beautiful thing to me.”

And let that be enough.

🐑