“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed.”  Luke 9:25

How do you figure the value of anything?  As every salesperson, entrepreneur, or stockbroker will tell you, value is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay.  The people who run eBay and similar Internet auction sites have made tremendous fortunes because they know this truth—they realize that one person’s trash is literally another’s treasure.  Perhaps you’ve seen some of the improbable “bargains” that sellers are offering online.

One of our all-time favorite eBay auctions was for a UFO detector . . . with AA batteries included.  Its Brazilian manufacturer advertised that the UFO detector could detect minute fluctuations in the earth’s magnetic field caused by visitations from alien spacecraft.  Unfortunately, accuracy was not 100 percent guaranteed due to the fact that the propulsion systems of UFOs are not all the same.  The UFO detector went for the final sale price of $135.03.  Then there was the grilled cheese sandwich said to bear the image of the Virgin Mary that sold for $28,000, and a “haunted” walking cane that went for $65,000.

One eBay seller even offered to reveal “the meaning of life” online.  We’re not talking about the Monty Python movie here, but the ultimate secret of existence—the secret that philosophers and theologians have been seeking since the dawn of civilization.  The seller said he’d finally figured it out, and now he was auctioning it off to the highest bidder.  Even with eight bids, the answer to life’s greatest question didn’t fetch much.  But who knows?  It may have been the best $3.26 the winning bidder ever spent.

The thing is, every single buyer—even the one who bought Britney Spears’ chewing gum for $263 and the potato chip shaped like a cowboy boot for over $1,000—thought he or she was getting value for the money.  It may not make sense to you, but from the buyers’ perspective, when they hit that ENTER key they believed what they were getting was worth every penny.

If it sounds a little crazy to you—that people would pay good money for such ridiculous stuff—then imagine what God must think when he surveys the choices we make every day.  The Bible tells us that at the end of the day, “. . . the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).  It sounds like a no-brainer.  Of course, we’d rather be given eternal life, right?  Apparently not, considering that, for weird reasons of our own, we often choose the Thief’s idea of a “bargain” over God’s free gift.  In the moment, it feels pretty darn good to indulge in actions we know are wrong—even if we know they’re guaranteed to produce terrible consequences in the end.  The truth is, every act of lying, stealing, cheating, or selfishness ever committed almost certainly seemed “worth it” at the time the person did it.  And that’s how the thief tricks us.

Though we might not like to admit it, all of us have—at one time or another—freely chosen to go against what God says (and what we know in our hearts) is right.  Like Adam and Eve (and every single person since—except Jesus), you’ve done things God has forbidden or you’ve chosen not to do things you knew were right.  The Apostle Paul underlines this 100 percent failure rate by saying, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard (Romans 3:23, emphasis added).  And “No one does good, not a single one” (Romans 3:12b).

We’ve blown it and continue to blow it for one big reason: We’re easy to deceive.  The chief tool of the Thief is deception.  In John 8:44b, Jesus describes his tactics saying, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (NIV).  For the world’s oldest and slimiest deceiver, it’s practically child’s play to mess with our values . . . to get us thinking down is up, good is bad, richness is poverty . . . that trash is worth millions and that the true treasure is trash.

If you need an example, read the first few chapters of the Bible.  God gave Adam and Eve all of paradise for their personal playground.  God gave them all the fish of the sea, all the birds of the air, and every living creature and all of the plants that bear fruit except for one.  In Genesis 1:31, God looked over the whole earth that he’d just given to one man and one woman and pronounced the whole thing “very good.”  Sounds very good to us!  We’re not talking about a few hundred measly mansions on a few thousand meager acres.  Adam and Eve literally had everything—including what every soul hungers for: a perfect relationship with God!

But there sat the Thief dressed up as a serpent.  He had a big challenge before him: He had to convince the jackpot winners of the universe’s richest lotto that God was being stingy toward them.  Unfortunately, the Thief is really good at being bad!

You know how that story ends.  Adam and Eve were deceived into valuing the one thing they weren’t supposed to have over all the billions of good things God had already given them.  It’s hard to figure out how anyone could be so badly bamboozled . . . unless it has happened to you.

Case in point: One Judas, called Iscariot, was an incredibly fortunate man.  Judas was one of just 12 men in recorded history to spend nearly every waking hour of his life for three years with the living, breathing Son of God.  Judas was probably as familiar with Jesus—his teachings, his moods, his every tone and inflection, even the funny sounds he made when he laughed—as you are with the idiosyncrasies of your best friend or spouse.

Imagine all the healings and miracles Judas witnessed.  Judas must have tasted the water that had been turned to wine.  He must have spoken with Lazarus after he returned from death and with the woman at the well when she took her entire village to hear Jesus.  Judas was just feet away from Peter as he jumped out of the boat and walked on water with the Lord.  Judas even let Jesus serve him by washing his feet.  Even after being present for the greatest miracles of all time, even after hearing Jesus’ life-changing words, even after seeing lives changed and perspectives shifted, even after all of that—Judas still didn’t think he had enough.  The only person Judas could think of serving was Judas.

At some point along the way, Judas had let the Thief cloud his mind and darken his understanding.  Matthew tells the story as follows:

Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy.  While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.

The disciples were indignant when they saw this.  “What a waste of money,” they said.  “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”

But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me?  You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.  She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial.  I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?”  And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.  From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.  (Matthew 26:6-16)

In John’s account of Jesus being anointed with perfume, he identifies the woman pouring out the oil as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.  He also specifically identifies Judas Iscariot as the disciple complaining, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages.  It should have been sold and the money given to the poor” (John 12:4-5).  John also adds a chilling bit of commentary about Judas saying, [Judas] did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6, NIV).

So what does this have to do with experiencing overflowing life?  Well, here it is: Instead of listening to understand why Jesus was praising the woman, Judas focused inward.  You could say his inner fountain was set on “suck” instead of “flow.”  Though on the surface Judas piously complained of waste and sanctimoniously spoke of giving to the poor, underneath he was chanting the inward-focused mantra he’s learned from the master Thief: “What’s in it for me?”

Tragically, Judas didn’t seem to grasp the completely unselfish act of love Mary had literally poured out on Jesus.  What Judas’ self-clouded, Thief-deceived mind did see was an embarrassing, inappropriate emotional display and a terrible was of money (that he could put to “better” use).

The fragrant oil of nard Mary spilled was indeed very expensive.  Imagine a year’s wages, or the cost of a new Mercedes.  Imagine cashing in your retirement plan and spending all of it on one single bottle of perfume.  Honestly, if you did this, wouldn’t some of your family members think seriously about calling the nice men in which coats to come and haul you away to a padded room?  What if those same relatives say you getting ready to pour out that $50,000 bottle of Chanel No. 5 on the head of your rabbi or pastor?  Can’t you just picture your sister Martha or Uncle Ned diving through the air in slow motion to try to stop you—screaming “Noooooooooo!”

If you’re honest, you’ll probably admit the whole scene sounds about as crazy to you as it did to Judas.  Perhaps if your pastor had brought your brother back to life after four days of rotting in the grave—as Jesus had done for Mary’s brother, Lazarus—then maybe this kind of extreme gesture would make a little more sense.

The thing is, Jesus not only praised Mary’s gift he also accorded her one of the highest honors any person in Christian history has ever received  Jesus said that wherever his gospel was preached throughout the world, he wanted everyone to hear her story (Matthew 26:13)  But why would Jesus say this?

It wasn’t the money, or that Jesus was “really into” perfume.  It was the utterly outward—focused love of her giving.  There was nothing in it for Mary but the pure joy of showing her Lord what he meant to her.  In an awful lot of human societies, talk is cheap and the people who praise you to your face will sometimes betray you in private.  So there is something downright wonderful about demonstrating love in ways words could never communicate.

Mary’s gift is even greater than most of us understand today.  As the other Gospels tell the story, Mary didn’t just anoint Christ’s head with oil like an Old Testament king or prophet.  She stooped down to do what only the lowliest servants of her day were ever required to do.  She washed his feet, and not just with soap and water, but with her own grateful tears.  Then, scandalously to all but Jesus, she unbound her hair and dried his feet with it.  If you grasp her utter abandonment, you may begin to understand why Jesus wanted Mary’s story told over and over wherever his gospel went.

If this display of emotional and spiritual abandon makes you uncomfortable, you’re certainly not alone.  It’s terribly shocking, ridiculously extravagant, and completely out of the ordinary.  This is not the safe, homogenized religion many of us have come to expect—not by a long shot.  Mary’s is not the kind of story you tell if you like your religion cerebral, tame, or reasonable.  She let go of the “What’s in it for me?” attitude that ultimately drove Judas to betray Jesus.  She not only understood the deep joy of receiving the overflowing love of Jesus, but also the fierce thrill of loving him back in the ways he cares about most.

Remember that verse about how we all fall short of God’s glory?  How about that one saying the wages of sin is death?  Well, they’re both true.  And they both apply to everyone one of us; we’ve all fallen short of God’s perfect standard, and were all condemned to death.  But, what Mary experienced—and what’s true for all of us—is that Jesus came to change all that.

Jesus died the death we were condemned to die.  He was completely innocent—having never sinned even once—and yet he paid the wages of our sins.  And because of his love and his sacrifice, we can receive the gift of eternal life.

That’s why Mary fell at Jesus’ feet and poured an incredibly expensive bottle of perfume on his head.  That’s why people for centuries have given their lives to worship Jesus.

There is no value you can place on Jesus’ sacrifice.  It’s priceless.  But, like Mary, you can show your love and gratitude.

If you’re thirsty for a life less ordinary, more passionate, and unpredictably powerful, the next blog will point you toward the biblical antidote to the disease of self-centeredness.  If you place a high value on knowing God more deeply, then you’ll like what’s coming.

Getting Your Feet Wet  (feel free to comment here or the Reflection Pool questions)

God places a high value on you.  So much so that God sent his only Son to die so that God could have a personal relationship with you.  That’s the price God paid for your friendship—and God felt that price was “worth it.”

What is your relationship with God worth to you?

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34, NIV).  Mary’s unselfish anointing of Jesus with her treasured perfume spoke volumes about how much her relationship with Jesus meant to her.

What do you treasure most in your life?  Time? Money? Family? Friends?

How can you offer that treasure to God?

If you can, visualize your treasure sitting in your cupped hands.  Lift it up to God and ask, “If it’s true you treasure me even more than I love what’s here in my hands, let me experience and share that love.”

The Reflection Pool

God believed a personal relationship with you was worth the cost of his Son’s life.  What kind of an emotional response does that trigger in you?

How can you use your treasures to worship God?

How might your life change if you experienced the powerful emotions of gratitude and love toward God that Mary must have been feeling?