WHY WORSHIP MATTERS MORE

Mark 14:3-9

³ While he was staying at Bethany in the house of Simon the leprous, as he reclined at the table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of very costly myrrh of nard, and she broke open the flask and poured it out on his head. ⁴ But some were there who said to one another in anger, “Why was the myrrh destroyed like this? ⁵ Because this myrrh could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they severely criticized her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has worked a good work as far as I am concerned. ⁷ Because you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you want to; but you will not always have me. ⁸ She has done what she could; she has put myrrh on my body beforehand for the burial. ⁹ I guarantee you, wherever the excellent message is proclaimed in the whole world, her work will be spoken of in remembrance of her.”

the worship priority

The critics in that room had all the practical arguments on their side. The perfume was expensive. The needs around them were real. The money could have been redirected toward any number of worthy causes. And yet Jesus rebuked them, not because their logic was wrong, but because their hearts were. They could not see what this woman saw. She wasn’t being careless or wasteful—she was worshiping. She was giving her best to the One who was about to give His life for her. In that moment, her devotion mattered more than any calculation of cost.

Worship has always carried that kind of holy extravagance. It reaches beyond efficiency and usefulness. It touches our eternal purpose and honors our eternal King. The world will always misunderstand this. It will ridicule our devotion, question our priorities, and accuse us of foolishness. But the world’s criticism is temporary. Its values are temporary. Its judgments are temporary. When we worship Jesus, we step into something that will outlast every earthly opinion. We lean into the destiny for which we were created.

There is nothing irresponsible about pouring out our love for Christ. Nothing misguided about giving Him our best. Nothing excessive about honoring the One who has given us everything. The woman in that house understood this long before the others did. Her act of worship became a testimony that still speaks.

LORD, show us how to worship You extravagantly, like Your daughter did that day.