He sat down opposite the treasure, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
– Mark 12.31-44
In this passage, Jesus is watching and comparing how various worshipers are contributing to the treasury of the temple. The text tells us that many rich people put in large sums. I imagine that the administrators of the temple appreciated cultivating these large-sum donors. And these large-sum donors may have enjoyed being able to bless the temple out of their wealth.
In contrast to these donors, a poor widow put in “two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.” The money she put is essentially of no value, yet Jesus chooses to honor her above all of the wealthy donors. The difference is that Jesus was judging the motivation of the giving not the amount of it. Jesus was looking at the ways that the giving shed picture on the sacrifice associated with the giving, rather than the bottom-line contributions to the temple.
The widow gave out of her poverty compared to the rest who gave out of their abundance. Jesus honors giving that comes out of poverty over giving that comes out of abundance. There are a few things about this principle that stand out to me:
- The poor will shame the rich. This is an example of the upside-down kingdom. This is consistent with the power of the gospel where those who do not have uproot those who do have. It is the shake-up of power-structures, where the least shall be first.
- Giving is important and necessary. From the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich, all are expected to give. Being in ministry among college students, the constant mentality is that student budgets are immunized from having to give toward the works of God.
- Giving is not associated with a certain amount. Giving is measured on a heart level not in the amount we give, whether it be a percentage of our income or the absolute amount we actually give.
Though the amount this widow gave to the treasury was insignificant to the treasury, it was significant to her. How we measure our giving is not the impact it will make to advance God’s work, but the impact it will make on our lives.
Throughout the gospels, we see that Jesus has strong words for those who are wealthy. I don’t believe it’s because there is something less spiritual or more sinful in being wealthy, as some of our friends who subscribe to liberation theology may suggest. I think Jesus has strong words to those who are wealthy is because the more money we have, the harder it is to give out of our poverty.
Over the past 10 years, my income has consistently inched upwards. And as my income has inched upwards, so has our expenses. Some of that is just natural cost-of-living increases (inflation) and the expansion of our family, but some of the increase in our expenses is due to us taking advantage of a larger income.
In other words, the more money that is disposable to me, the easier it is for me to give money away from a place of abundance rather than a place of poverty. To give from a place of poverty is to have the heart of this widow who gave all she had to live on. She gave what she may have needed for basic necessities. What she gave, she will miss as she now must trust that God would still provide for her needs.
Practically speaking, these are some ways I have tried to grow my heart to mimic this hero of the faith:
- Make giving a priority: Our family revolves around our giving. We make financial decisions regarding other expenses and budget items after we have settled on a giving priority.
- We have focused on living a simpler lifestyle: The basic rule of thumb is that every year, your expenses expand. We have tried to operate on a reverse trend where every year, we learn to live with more simplicity. This has been extremely difficult to do. One way we do that is that we have committed to look for ways to increase our giving over the years. When we got married, we began with a 10% tithe and over the years have worked to increase that percentage.
- Freedom in giving: Rather than make giving a rule, we have looked for ways we can enjoy this discipline. I like to think of giving as an experience of worship rather than monthly dues.
- Pray for a motivated heart: I want my heart to reflect that God’s abundance and mercies are sufficient for me and my family. I want my giving to reflect my heart.
This poor, nameless widow is a hero of the faith. She reflects that her trust is in God rather than the amount of money that is in her name. In this story, Jesus draws a lesson that the Kingdom of God is not built through the abundance of our possessions, but through giving of ourselves to God.
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