Mark 12:41-44 Luke 21:1-4

Mark 12:41-44 41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Luke 21:1-4 1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. 3 And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; 4 for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”

Giving is one of those things that we view very differently than God does.  We look at amounts of money and are impressed by large gifts because they make such a huge difference from our perspective.  God sees these things in a very different way.  Jesus teaches His disciples, and us, about giving from His perspective.  There are some valuable lessons that should motivate all of us to give generously.  It does not matter how much or little we have; we all have the opportunity to give in a way that will result in great reward from God.

GOD KNOWS WHAT WE GIVE AND DON’T GIVE: Jesus observes those who are bringing their offerings to the temple.  There are many who are putting in large sums of money.  There is also a poor widow who only puts in two small coins.  Jesus knows that those who are depositing large gifts are rich and that they continue to be rich.  They are giving of their surplus.  Jesus also knows that the widow is poor and has give all her money.  She has nothing left.  Men can impress one another by the amount of their gifts.  However, the percentages of our giving is something others don’t know and shouldn’t know.  God does know what percentage of our income we give.  This is the basis on which we will be judged. 

GOD VALUES WHAT WE GIVE BY WHAT WE DON’T GIVE: When Jesus observes the widow’s gift, He calls His disciples to teach them about His perspective on giving.  He informs them that from God’s perspective, the widow gave more than anyone else that day.  She had given all she had to live on.  The others may have given larger sums of money, but none of them had given all their money.  The value of our giving is not determined by how much we give, but by how much we don’t give.  This principle is the great equalizer in giving.  Everyone has the same ability to give no matter how much or how little we have.  God’s vision of generosity is completely different from man’s perspective.  In our calculations, there is no way a gift of two cents could be greater than a gift of two million dollars.  Jesus makes it clear that this is exactly the case.  This means that in God’s eyes we all have the same ability and responsibility to give.

APPLICATION: Never give to be seen of men or in an effort to impress men.  Our giving must be for the Lord’s eyes alone.  Remember that God measures our giving in percentages instead of amounts, so we all have exactly the same ability to give.  As we decide what to give, always consider the amount we don’t give as much as the amount we do give.