When I was still a child, my aunts would always tell me to finish my food. They would always tell me to never waste anything by not having leftovers on my plate. Anything that was left on my plate after I ate was considered WASTED.
WASTE. Big word. So they say. In Filipino, "sayang". We say that something (money, clothes, food, water, electricity) is "wasted" when we see a greater purpose for that something to be used for. We say that money spent on expensive clothes is wasted just because we know we can buy the similar set of clothes on a cheaper price. We say that clothes are wasted when they are not being used because we believe that they should be put to a better use by giving them away. We say that food is wasted when there are leftovers because a lot of people are being starved to death. We say that water is wasted when there's too much consumption. In our house, we say that electricity is wasted whenever there are too many lights turned on.
We say that something is wasted when we think that there could have been a better purpose or that something could have been put to a better use than how it is presently used. At times, we say that something is wasted when there is too much. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that we should (or must) use excessively whatever resources we have (even Jesus has something to say on leftovers). I believe in electricity and water conservation. I believe that one should be wise in handling money. I believe that you should only get the food that you can finish. But it is not the same with how we treat our relationship with Jesus. Sometimes, we treat our devotion to Jesus in the same way we treat these things. I sense that in some people, they feel like there is "too much of Jesus" in everything we do. We only give to Jesus the amount that is comfortable to us. We quantify His Lordship over our lives. No, we don't call this "waste" we just say "it's too much". We dare ask boldly from God and yet we cowardly give to Him what we have. Our definition of total surrender is just "hands lifted up" not "hearts emptied out". We make a checklist on the things that we surrender to God and the things that we hold on to. There was a similar case during the time of Jesus, when people accused a woman of being wasteful. You can read the whole text in Luke Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-10. Let me summarize it.
A woman came inside Simon's house. She anointed Jesus by pouring expensive perfume on His head. A lot of people were indignant of what the woman did to Jesus (one of them was Judas Iscariot), they said that the perfume is worth a year's wage and that this perfume should have been sold so that the money would have been given to the poor. They "rebuked her harshly". But Jesus told them to leave her alone because she has done a beautiful thing to Him. They can always have the poor with them but they cannot always have Jesus with them.
This woman was a classic example of being "wasteful" for Jesus. People saw that her efforts to glorify Jesus were a waste - because they thought that the perfume could have been sold for charity (not that Jesus is not for it). The disciples of Jesus only saw the temporary (selling the perfume to have something for the poor) and failed to see what is eternal (giving Jesus the Glory) because they were looking at the price of the perfume not at the price of a human's life.
A lot of times, even though we "know" Jesus, we still fail to give our all to Jesus. He deserves nothing less than your all. Why? Because He gave His all to you. The purpose of God in our lives can only be enjoyed eternally and not temporarily that is why He wants our all - because it is not only a part of us that will go to Heaven (or Hell) - it is our all.
What happens when we "waste" ourselves for Jesus?
Mark 14:9 "Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
Or in one word: Honor. God honors the faith of those who honor Him.
When we acknowledge how deserving Jesus is - we come to a realization that any effort not given, not dedicated, not devoted to Him is wasted. When we learn how to see things differently, Nothing is a waste when Jesus is praised.
