The Woman with the Alabaster Box - Part 1

Alabaster box of Nard.

The woman with the two cups of pure perfume, middle east perfumes, so highly exotic and and frightfully expensive. Equivalent to a whole years wages!
She came and just poured it out on the Rabbi's feet and wiped it with her hair and the whole house was filled with the fragrance.

Critics she must have known she would have had a-plenty tearing her apart; judging her for her complete lack of morals- touching a Rabbi's feet/head a strict no-no for a woman, even in today's world. Deservedly an awkwardly infamous reputation as a woman, perpetuated even today sinner, prostitute, the labels she had them all, justification for the same would scarcely matter even for authors of today ... for her extremely poor financial sense, one years wages spent in under a few minutes, for her un-spirituality, as a penitent act shouldn't she do something for the poor or the future of the ministry?

The Rabbi, He took the opposite tact, sheilding the woman from the critics haranguing her, most of them especially his own beloved disciples, including Iscariot.

He who had just last week raised the dead Lazarus, in the same town of Bethany, was now doing something even more frightfully eerie. He began to expose the thoughts and intents of every heart in the room. And only the woman came out unscathed and justified.

Jesus knew he was going to die less than a week from now. He was touched by the gesture and acknowledging the act as an in-advance rites of burial, prophesying once again of his upcoming crucifixion.

This was the incident that triggered the onset betrayal of the corrupt Judas. It was not sufficient to have the entire treasury finances of the ministry of Jesus and his disciples in his hand, and dip into it occasionally. His itch for money, like the proverbial sub-continental Indian Babu, was never ending, ... and now the Rabbi was judging the core of his motifs. Nothing was more humiliating. His heart seethed and as he went out he decided to sell out Jesus

The profound poignancy of this story, never fails to grip me to the core. Jesus constantly prophesied about his death, burial and resurrection. And this story would be the one to set everything in motion.

True Success Part 9/9

Love. Not the Hollywood/Bollywood kind. The GOD kind.
Theres a word for it in Greek which has different levels of loving.
In English the word for love is the same whether you love your car, your dog or your wife. I'm not going to say which one I love most !

There's Eros which is the pure emotional and sensual love. It's the cinematic kind with special effects which can and often does vanish the morning after like 007. This is love without commitment to a person. Puppy love.

Then theres Phileo which is the paternal or platonic love or marital relationships. A love that is based in friendship and sacrifice. This is often a mutual love. You scratch my back and I scratch yours. This symbiotic relationship easily terminates when one does not live up to the other's expectation.

And finally there is the Agape love. This is the God kind of love. I often think of it as true love. This kind of love is not dependent on the recipient and their behaviour but only on the giver.

Theres a beautiful chapter in the Word of God about the qualities of this Love.


Even if I speak in all the languages of Angels and Men and have not Love, I am an irritating gong. If I can know the future as God does, and understand everything in the universe and have the power of Superman but have no love, I am nothing. If I donate all my worldly goods to the impoverished and am persecuted and killed for my faith, and have no Love, I am the loser.

Love is showing patience and still remains kind.
Without envy of others success or boasting about your own.
Not being rude or selfish and rarely angered, it doesn't hold a grudge. Delights in truth and good rather than in evil.
Always defends others and trusts others, with hope and endurance.
Love cannot fail. Prophecies can fail, and languages will fade away, knowledge will be outdated quickly.

For the revelation of the future is only partial, and we wait for God's perfect plan so our imperfect path can be done away with.
When I was a child, I thought immaturely.
But now as a man I put away childishness.

Now what we see of God is reflected in us, is as if through a bad mirror, but Love brings us face to face. Now I know this partially, but soon I shall experience God fully, just the same way that he knows me.

Now the top three are Faith, Hope and Love. The greatest of these is Love. I have show you the way to excellence. Follow the way of Agape desiring the gifts.

Success Part 8

Once a poor boy was examining a rich man's car. It was the latest and most expensive. Straight out of the latest James bond movie. Then the owner came by and said "Do you like it ? My brother gave it to me."

The boy then exclaimed "Oh how I wish...." and then when the rich
man thought he knew what was coming next. "... I could be a brother like that. "

Sibling rivalry is quite common.

Vast empires totter and fall when the king has more than one descendant. Success is of no use if succession is not assured. Heirs to the kingdom forget their common blood when maneuvering for power.

In climbing the path to success, the ladder of the backs one trod on is forgotten. Short-lived pseudo success. We would not be where we are today if not for our brothers and sisters, both familial and spiritual.

Acts of kindness truly separate chaff from wheat, and is one of the most powerful indicators of success.

Never mistake kindness for weakness. However call a spade a spade. Those who do not understand kindness and mercy after experiencing it, should not be shown mercy.

It takes great strength to show kindness, and not the other way around.

Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the and the blind can see. ~Mark Twain

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. ~Aesop

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. ~Audrey Hepburn
Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless. ~Mother Teresa

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. ~Kahil Gibran

Choose being kind over being right, and you'll be right every time. ~Richard Carlson

Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out. ~Frank A. Clark

When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. ~Dalai Lama

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~ Philo
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. ~James Matthew Barrie

How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it! ~George Elliston

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profundity. Kindness in giving creates love. ~Lao-Tse

Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how. ~Author Unknown

To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue... gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. ~Confucius

I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver. ~Maya Angelou

All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don't discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others. ~Danny Thomas

When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel. ~Harold Kushner

Deeds of kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments. ~Talmud

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again. ~Og Mandino

Life is mostly froth and bubble; Two things stand like stone: Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in your own. ~Adam Lindsay Gordon

Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. ~Barbara De Angelis

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. ~Leo Buscaglia

Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. ~Scott Adams

Kindness trumps greed: it asks for sharing. Kindness trumps fear: it calls forth gratefulness and love. Kindness trumps even stupidity, for with sharing and love, one learns. ~Marc Estrin

So many gods, so many creeds, So many paths that wind and wind, While just the art of being kind is all the sad world needs. ~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true. ~Robert Brault
If you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble. ~Bob Hope

Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are. ~Author Unknown

True success inspires brotherly kindness.

True Success Part 7

True success comes with spiritual maturity.

The wholeness of being in my inner man. Godliness.

This is the toughest one isnt it. The ability to be spiritual without depending on any outward show of religion. Religion is easy, Godliness is astoundingly difficult.

"What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor."

Im always amused when some one makes the comment "You sing like an angel" (sic)

Not to me, of course . Till date I havent heard of anyone who can sing more than 3 octaves with equal fortitude and ease. Its next to impossible to be angelic either physically or spiritually. How easy is it going to be Godly ???

Still we were created in His image.

To be a true success I must reflect true Godliness in character and maturity. I have to stop thinking about myself and my world, and start renewing myself according to his plan and to conform to the image of His SON.

The paradigm shift is killing. Literally.

For I no longer live but it is Christ living in me.

True Success Part 6

Dealing with Setbacks. This is an integral part of the walk to success. True maturity comes with the knowledge that the real world is not perfect but hard and deadly. True success is the skill of picking yourself up after a failure.

An apocryphal story about the man Alva Edison who perfected the lightbulb, recorded a thousands attempt to find the perfect filament that would glow and be long lasting. Had he given up at attempt 999 we might all be still living with a few explosions everytime we pull the switch and to have to buy a new bulb every 3 hours.

The idea of success is borne out by sheer disregard of negative circumstances. In fact the greatest success always triumphed over adversity, making success taste all the more sweeter. A steady persevering attitude will crack any thing just like a continual drip of water can wear out all the strongest rocks.

Rejoice not over me mine enemy. For when I fall I shall yet arise. When I sit in darkness.... the Lord shall be light unto me.

True Success Part 5

Iron will, Master of Self control... that doesnt often describe me does it ?

Today I totally blew it... I got tired of waiting 10 minutes at a stuck traffic light, with an impatient truck behind me. I ran red lights, threw a tantrum, cursed loudly and then went to church and led worship to the Lord with a sweet smile. (Ok... i really blew it baaaad !!!)

The number one problem with myself is that I am way out of control. I think too little and say too much, drink too much, eat too much. Engage in so little exercise and self discipline. How did it get this way ?

Where do I start seizing control. The longest journey begins with the single step.

What are my goals ? What am I trying to achieve.
The secret to self control ? I have to begin by controlling what I say. It is what I say that communicates who I am. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." My tongue is in rapid fire automatic mode. Whatever ammunition is inside will come out. America and its cowboys may have wiped Native Indians of the map but there is a lil' Red Indian shooting out Huge flaming arrows inside of Uncle Sam.

All emotional baggage to be scanned before being checked into the Self control airlines. Whats in my heart ? Its a pit of vipers, desparately unclean, amazingly deceptive (how many times did I make a fool of myself today?) and all the mess inside is going to explode and hit the fan one day or the other. 

No man can tame the tongue. Only the Lord can change the heart. Ask for a heart transplant every day... Only the one who overcomes his self will ever experience true success.

True Success Part 4 contd ...

God says ... the Ox knows his master, and so does the Ass. But do you ?

Whether I am strong as an Ox, or foolish as an Ass... how well do I know my Master. The search of all religions is based in the simple question, "Is there a God ? and if so what are we to him ?"

Do I really know my God, or just know about Him. Is he my Master or Just a Mystery?
Key to success not in my Wisdom or Strength, but in knowing the Lord.

The saddest ever words in the bible,Get away from me... I never knew you...But Lord see our success... in thy name we did all these wonderful works.
The only way you can get to know someone is to spend time with them. How much time have I spent with the one I want to spend eternity with?

In closing a quote from a famous magician and wise man in the bible.
"The people that know their God shall be strong and do great exploits."