“She hath done what she could” is a statement made about the woman that anointed Jesus’ head with a precious oil (Mark 14). Jesus said she was anointing him in preparation for his burial. He was praising the woman for the good deed she was doing and said she would be talked about and remembered wherever the gospel is heard. She did all she could to honor Jesus as the end of His life neared.

Frequently we say the same thing about someone that is doing a good work. We may also say this when someone is attempting to do a good work and falling short of her goals — she hath done what she could. In other words, she has done her best. While God expects us to follow Him and do His will, He knows we are frail and make mistakes. He wants us to do our best. We are not asked to be perfect but to do what we can — the best we can.

What I really would like to talk about is the other way we use this phrase. Many times, we say “I did the best, I could” or “She did the best she could” when our attempts have really fallen short of what we really could do. I would like us to look at ourselves and ask — Hath she done what she could? I don’t want us to look at our neighbor or our sister that sits in the next pew but at ourselves. Worded a little differently — Have I done what I could?

As we go through our everyday lives, are we really doing the best we can to serve God? Have we truly been the best influence for good to those around us? Have we been ready to “give an answer” to those that ask us why we do what we do? Have we put God first in our lives? Have we taught our children that God’s way is the only way?

I’ve come to a point in my life that my own and my friends’ children are beginning to leave the nest. It’s a scary time for a mom. It is the time to find out if the child will follow God’s will when Mom and Dad aren’t there to encourage and steer them in the right direction. Too many times I see the parents distraught because their child has chosen to leave God out of their lives — usually not long after leaving Mom and Dad’s protection and guidance. What do these parents typically say? “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what I could have done differently. I did what I could.”
 
Really? Did I do all I could to prepare this child for a life of service to God? After seeing this scenario many times, it doesn’t take long to see a pattern develop. A pattern of parents that loved their children and spent a lot of time with their children, spent a lot of money on their children, and gave their children every opportunity that the world around us considers essential to quality child development. Young families tend to get caught up in what our society considers necessary for a child to be successful. They see to it their child is given the best education, has opportunities to succeed on the ball field or with a music instrument, has the tools necessary to do whatever it is the child is interested in and the community looks favorably on.

While none of these things are wrong, the problem or the mistake that parents make is failing to give the same time and attention to spiritual training. They surround their children with the best teachers and mentors of these worldly pursuits but the child may not ever have a conversation with a faithful Christian that is not a family member. The child is surrounded with peers that are an encouragement to a sports endeavor or good influences in academic areas but are not encouraged to seek peers that are Christians.

Without filling our children’s lives with Christians that can help them live a Christ centered life, our children will be vulnerable to the influences of this world. We must see to it that our children are surrounded by Christians. That they are encouraged to make Christians their closest friends. That they are encouraged to have close relationships with older Christians that can be a great influence to them as they leave the nest.

The next time we hear ourselves say, “Well, I did what I could,” we need to ask ourselves, “Did I do what I could?” We must ask this question before it’s too late and our child has been lead astray by peers that are not serving God.