Thursday, September 10, 2015
“Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This [Judas] said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein” (John 12:5,6 KJV).
We can only wonder just how much do “eleemosynary-oriented” church leaders actually care for the poor they often talk so much about?
Not too long ago, I listened to a world-famous religious leader who always enjoys talking about helping the poor. Today’s Scripture came to mind as I reflected on his words. This religious leader heads the world’s wealthiest political-religious organization—the Roman Catholic Church! Its vaults have billions in rare pieces of art, real estate deeds, and so on. For a denomination that cares “so much for the poor,” its actions speak louder than its words. They have hoarded material riches for nearly 2,000 years, never “spreading the wealth” that they urge others to do. Smugly, a church official declared decades ago, “Only God knows how much wealth we have amassed!”
One of the chief ways the Devil attacks God’s ministry is “the love of money… the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). God’s Word constantly reminds bishops and deacons to be “not greedy of filthy lucre” (1 Timothy 3:3,8) and “not given to filthy lucre” (Titus 1:7). There is always the temptation for the minister of God to “suppose that gain is godliness” (1 Timothy 6:5).
The Bible reveals in today’s Scripture that one Judas’ predilections was to “alleviate” the weight of the apostles’ treasury bag. As the group’s “accountant,” Judas Iscariot was always willing to have people put cash in the apostles’ money-bag so he could swipe it and use it for himself. In today’s Scripture, he claimed that ointment could have been sold, converted to money, and the money could have been given to help the poor. All he really wanted to do was enhance his own bank account!
God is not mocked, beloved. Oh, the extortionists in religion will have to stand before God one day, and “give account” to Him… literally, for every last penny they pilfered. We can take that “to the bank!” 🙂