Want to know something that I dislike about myself? I dislike the internal selfish desire that is always asking, “What’s in it for me?” But I dislike that desire more in you than I do in me. Sadly, we probably won’t get away from the quest of personal gain in this lifetime. An old pastor, Henry A. Boardman once wrote, “I am deeply convinced that my best duties have fallen far short of the perfection of thy law and been so riddled with sin in their performance that I might justly be condemned for the most fervent prayer I ever made.” So even in our worship, we are prone to ask, “What’s in it for me?”
So thinking back to the woman in Mark 14 whose costly act upset the stewardship crowd: Was she beyond the selfish question, “What’s in it for me?” Like the rest of us, she was also asking the self-motivated question. But what was she trying to GET? What did she WANT? She wanted HIM! Which makes me ask these questions: Are we following Jesus to get blessings? Or are we following Jesus to get Him? Do we worship instrumentally or do we worship aesthetically? Is Jesus a means to an end? Or is He THE END?
Lead, Laugh, Love 