This week in church we’re holding Children’s Church. That means that the children will not be in the room with us. That means that we are free to talk about more adult topics without having to sugar coat things for little ears. I’m sure each of you knows the topic to which I am referring. It’s a topic that has long been argued to be the dominant thought within adult minds, especially males. Of course, I am speaking of the topic of money. (What else did you think I was talking about?)
The topic of money, especially in the church, is often a taboo. Many people get the idea that the church only wants them to come for their money. It’s true that churches, much like this one, are completely dependent upon donations. We have no money to pay the heating bill or to even have a building unless it is first donated. Sayings such as, “Give until it hurts,” have given people the impression that the church simply wants everything they have.
However, the truth is, the church doesn’t want or need your money. With or without your donations to this church, the body of Christ will continue to reach out to those in need. Those that feel that the church wants everything they have have their perspective all wrong. It’s not that the church wants everything. Instead, God wants everything that we have.
I remember being a young man in church and struggling with the idea of tithing. There were many well off people in the church, and it was my feeling that those which God had given lots of money to should be the ones giving it to God. I was early in my career and was barely making ends meet. I didn’t have anything extra to give to the church, but this was where I was mistaken.
Within the gospel of Mark, we find a short passage in which Jesus is teaching his disciples in regard to the aspect of giving. It follows a number of teachings in which Jesus explains to them the mystery of the Christ and the greatest commandment and after he tackles the idea of paying taxes to Caesar. In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus sits down and, instead of teaching the people, begins to simply watch.
My father-in-law is a people watcher. A good time for him is going down to the mall and simply watching people as they go about their normal activities. As you sit there and blend into the ambiance, people begin to forget that you’re there. At that point they begin to act as they always do. They begin to drop their people pleasing act and behave more like themselves. It is in watching people while they don’t know they’re being watched that you can learn who they really are.
Whether intentional or not, this is what Jesus was doing. He wasn’t trying to be shifty or shady. He merely sat down in the temple courts for a rest, yet he conveniently positioned himself across from where the offerings were put so that he could watch the people.
Within the treasury there were thirteen receptacles. Each had a trumpet-shaped mouth which allowed it to receive several different types of offerings. As Jesus watched, he saw many rich people dropping large offerings into the treasury, as well as they should. Throughout scripture we have evidences of many rich men who could hardly have been considered generous (1 Samuel 25:2-11; Luke 12:16-19). However, these men, out of the abundance that God had given them, freely gave large sums to the temple. The fact that they gave at all is to be commended.
As the day went on, many people came into the temple and made offerings, but one person caught Jesus’ attention. We are given no more explanation about this woman other than that she was a poor widow. In contrast with those who had gone before her, her offering stood out.
The Greek word here used to describe the two very small coins is lepta. This was an incredibly small amount of money. Given the ever changing value of their currency, it’s difficult to determine how these values would translate in today’s currency. Scholars are across the board on these values. Many state that a denarius (common payment for a day’s wages) would have been equivalent to approximately sixteen cents in today’s currency. However, if we figure that a denarius is equivalent to a day’s wages and take into account North Dakota’s current minimum wage of $7.25, the widow’s offering would have reached a grand total of just over $0.90.
Yet compared to the grand amounts of money that others were giving as offering, this widow’s offering stood out to Jesus, not because she gave so much less but because of how she did it. As we mentioned, Jesus was watching the people. He could see their faces and body language as they placed their offering into the trumpets. What caught his eye was not the amount that the amount that people were offering but rather their attitudes.
The rich nonchalantly gave their large offerings. They didn’t think twice about the money that was being given, but Jesus likely saw the pain on this woman’s face as she wrestled with the idea of giving up all that she had to live on. Seeing this woman’s distress and her willingness to give to God, Jesus calls over his disciples to repeat a lesson that he had taught in so many ways and on so many occasions.
What was so special about this woman’s gift? All of these rich people, after giving their offerings, went home to a nice home and a good meal. All of their needs were taken care of. This widow, after giving her offering, went home to nothing. Out of her poverty, she gave what she had. In doing so she was completely dependent upon God to provide for her needs. She didn’t have any other money to ensure that have a good meal or a roof over her head. With those two coins she gave God everything she had and was relying upon him to give to her everything she needed.
I’m reminded of a story told by one of our former General Superintendents, Dr. Stan Toler. He tells of a time when he was in college. A missionary speaker came to the campus, and at the end of the message the college president stood up and addressed the student body. He told them, “Many of you will come and you will pray today. Some of you will volunteer to be missionaries. Others, God will want what you have in your pocket, in your wallet, or in your purse.”
Dr. Toler goes on to describe how he went down to the altar to pray that evening and offer his life as a missionary, but instead God told him that he wanted what was in his pocket. In his pocket that night was the entirety of his spending money for the semester, $100. He placed that one hundred-dollar bill into the offering that night. As he recalls the story he tells of how in the following weeks God blessed him in ways that he could hardly imagine.
Many times we look at amounts the people give to charities and we marvel at the sheer amount that they give. Between 2001 and 2015 Bill and Hillary Clinton donated just over $23 million to charity (namely through the Clinton Foundation). We look at that and applaud them for their generosity. Each of us would love to be able to donate $23 million dollars to the charity of our choice.
However, that $23 million dollars was only 9.8% of their adjusted gross income for that time period. At the end of the day, even after giving away $23 million dollars, they didn’t have to worry about where their next meal was coming from. They didn’t have to worry about where they were going to sleep. Unlike Dr. Toler and unlike this widow, they had more to spare. It was out of their abundance that they gave, as well as they should.
I have known Christians to give up to 80% of their income away, and they don’t get nearly the fanfare and accolades that we give to those who donate millions. But you see, in God’s eyes giving is not measured by the count but by the cost. God doesn’t measure giving based upon how much was given but by how much was kept. It’s not about equal giving but equal sacrifice. While these rich people gave their large offerings, their sacrifice was nothing compared to the two coins given by this widow.
Giving to God is a conduit through which his blessings flow. When we give to him out of our poverty, we trust that he will fulfill his promises to take care of us. No longer are we depending upon our own ability to provide food and shelter for ourselves but we’re resting in his promise that he will never leave nor forsake us. That is why giving is considered to be a spiritual discipline which draws us closer in relationship with God.
We like to think that if we write a tithe check every week then we’re doing our part in giving to God. We may think that as long as we give God his ten percent we are free to live comfortably with the other ninety, but as we see with this widow, that’s not necessarily the case. While the Old Testament specifies a ten percent tithe, the New Testament makes it clear that we are to give generously according to our means and even beyond our means (2 Cor. 8:3). We are to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). How can we fulfill this calling unless we ourselves are burdened.
God is not interested in the amount that you give. That is of little consequence. The widow in our scripture passage, while the amount of her offering was small, the sacrifice which she made was great. To some God has given much, and from them much will be expected. But regardless of how much or how little God has given to us, each of us has the responsibility to give back to him that which he has freely given to us. It’s not about equal giving but equal sacrifice.