Extravagant Honor
Written by Jarred Rushing
(4 minutes)
Six days before the Passover began, Jesus went back to Bethany, the town where he raised Lazarus from the dead. They had prepared a supper for Jesus. Martha served, and Lazarus and Mary were among those at the table. Mary picked up an alabaster jar filled with nearly a liter of extremely rare and costly perfume--the purest extract of nard, and she anointed Jesus' feet. Then she wiped them dry with her long hair. And the fragrance of the costly oil filled the house. But Judas the locksmith, Simon's son, the betrayer, spoke up and said, "What a waste! We could have sold this perfume for a fortune and given the money to the poor!" (In fact, Judas had no heart for the poor. He only said this because he way a thief and in charge of the money case. He would steal money whenever he wanted from the funds given to support Jesus' ministry.) John 12:1-6
Extravagant honor will always expose where dishonor is hiding in the room.
Mary of Bethany was famous for how she honored Jesus. Anytime He was in the room, she was pulling up the closest seat and leaning in to every word He was speaking. She would abandon worthless tasks and mediocre conversations if it meant being close to the heart of Yeshua. Remember the time she was sitting at the feet of Jesus, lingering in His presence, and Martha, her sister, became enraged. Mary's honor has a strange way of exposing where dishonor is hiding in the room. And again in the scripture above we see Mary leveling up her honor, going beyond just spending time in Jesus' presence, as she begins to pour out her precious, costly resources on his feet and gently wipes them with her own hair. It doesn't take Judas long before he declares what dishonor always says when it sees extravagant honor flowing in someone else's direction: "What a waste!"
Dishonor always acts casually towards what honor sees as costly.
You need to know this as you pursue a heart of honor, because your extravagant expressions of honor will likely expose where dishonor is hiding in the room. As soon as you start to pour out your precious resources, dishonor will get offended and question your choices. Dishonor never understands why someone would spend their time, talents and treasure on someone or something other then themselves. There is a reason for that. Dishonor is always hiding in the heart that is pursuing personal destiny. Always.
When you begin to honor what Abba has anointed, there is a chance that friends, family, and co-workers will not understand. And that's okay.
There is something else you need to know.
Whenever dishonor starts to question you and mock you over your extravagant displays of affection, don't defend yourself. You just keep your eyes on the One who is most valuable. Consider Mary's life for a moment. In both scenarios where Mary is honoring the presence of Jesus, when she was sitting by His side as Martha groaned and as she poured oil on His feet as Judas mocked, notice that Mary doesn't have to give an answer to any of her accusers. In both scenarios, Jesus speaks to them on her behalf. I'm not even sure that she lifted her head in their direction because she was so enamored by the presence of Yahweh in her midst. No matter what noise dishonor is making, honor always keeps its eyes on what is most valuable. Let Jesus quiet the voice of dishonor on your behalf.
One more thing worth mentioning before we wrap up: never quiet the first-love fire inside of you because there are wet blankets in the room. I'm only bringing this up because I've seen it happen in my own life. There have been moments where I have let the dishonor in someone else keep me from pouring out the full measure of honor I knew someone or something was worthy of. In a moment where I should have protected the heart of the one deserving of honor, I protected my own heart instead. If you want to know how Peter felt after denying Christ three times, just give this a try. I'm so thankful that Abba's perfect love redeemed and restored my heart of honor.
Take this question with you as you walk with Abba:
Abba, where can I pour out my extravagant honor today?
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Worship: "Wouldn't It Be Like You" by Bryan & Katie Torwalt
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
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