A Lesson On Giving

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”  ~ Mark 12:41-44

 Jesus deliberately observed how people give. What He did, He sat down opposite the treasure box. He called His disciples to give them a lesson about giving. He compared the giving of the rich and the giving of the poor widow; He said even if the rich put in more while the poor widow put one cent, yet she gave more. God's Kingdom mathematics is different from our computation. It is not how much money we give that counts with God but how much of it was left in our pocket afterward. The rich gave and it doesn't hurt them because they have excess while the poor widow gave all and she doesn't have anything more after that. Jesus commended the poor widow because of her poverty she put in all she owned, all she have to live on.

We find another example in the Old Testament, Elijah the prophet during the time of famine. The LORD told Elijah to go to Zarephath, for God commanded a widow to provide for Elijah's food. The widow was about to cook their last meal, Elijah told her to share a little bread cake and what was left was for the widow and her son and God promised the widow 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.' 1 Kings 17:14 She did what she was told and miracle happened, 'The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah 1 Kings 17:16

Our act of giving has something to do with the condition of our heart, 'for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.' Matthew 6:21

Let us check the way we give...is it out of love for God and His Kingdom or we give God our leftovers? Let us learn a lesson from the poor widow!