Why was the ointment wasted in this way? Mark 14:1-11  While in the house of Simon the leper, a woman with an alabaster jar of costly ointment pours it on the head of Jesus. Some thought she was being wasteful and should have sold the ointment and gave the money to the poor. Jesus’ response to their misguided compassion at first seems selfish. Yet Christ is of course perfectly right. We always have the poor. Why do we wait for a windfall of funds? We can and should already be giving to the poor because money isn’t the only thing they need. Of the times when we are poor in spirit, only one act of giving is necessary. Like the woman and the alabaster jar we pour out the  treasure that is our heart to God, the one act of worship that is never wasted.