Just got finished with our Monday bible study. We have been studying the seven days of holy week as seen through the eyes of the gospel writers. I am always touched by the conversations that we have regarding what we are reading. Today we were discussing the Wednesday of holy week. The two stories from Matthew and Mark dealt with the anointing of Jesus by an unnamed woman and Judas agreeing to betray Jesus.

In our discussions, we began to focus on the amount of money that the oil would have cost which would have been equivalent to a year's salary. We compared that with the amount of money Judas was to be paid for betraying Jesus which would have been only a month's salary. The discussion focused on regardless of the extravagance of the oil the woman was worshiping Jesus who is soon to be put to death. What struck me was a statement I had made in worship on Sunday and the application of that in the story tonight. Sundays I have been talking about the importance of spiritual disciplines in building our discipleship. Sunday we talked about making our being disciplined a priority in our lives.

In the talk, I stated that we all have preferred values regarding our personal choices, relational choices, vocational choices, and spiritual choices. Sometimes what we say we prefer and what we actually do may be different. I stated that I could tell what one really preferred by following them for a week. I noticed several people come alert. I stated I could tell what one's lived out values were by what they spent their time on and what they spent their money on. This story tells so much about what the woman's value was and that was Jesus Christ. In Mark, Jesus states that we can always help the poor but we also need to remember to worship God.

I pray that God help me remember priorities in my life. And to help balance my spiritual discipline with personal and relational values. For when I can do that I find that I can do so much more in my life.