Extravagant

Kissing my wife would not make me a good husband, nor would buying her flowers, writing her songs or laughing with her late at night. What would make me a good husband is fidelity, providing for her, honesty, being a spiritual leader for her and other not-so-visible signs of love for her. Without these I cannot be a good husband. But kissing, flower buying, songs and laughter flow out of our relationship naturally because of the strength of my love for her that is also expressed in fidelity, etc.

I think it can be the same in our worship of God. Raising hands, bowing facedown or tears do not make us worshipers. Loving God from the heart, obeying Him and loving our neighbors are our primary acts of worship. Without these, we are not worshipers of God. But our worship of God should manifest itself in the same ways that loving our spouse should.

How extravagantly do we express our love for God? Consider the following passage.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at the table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."
(Joh 12:1-8)

300 denarii is about a year's wages for someone back then. I'm not sure how much you make in a year- $30,000? $50,000? $80,000? Imagine taking a year's worth of your earnings, saving it all, buying something with it and pouring it out at the feet of Jesus.

No wonder the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. It was an unbelievable amount of perfume. The house probably smelled like that stuff for months after this incredible act of worship.

How does our worship compare to the example of Mary here? Does your act of worship fill the room and seem excessive to those around? Could you say that your worship is "extravagant"? Or do we stand around like the disciples and wonder why someone would do something so outlandish?