The widow's mites.

[MoreCoffee]

There's a story told in Luke's gospel in chapter 21 that many read as a recommendation to give sacrificially to the church.

Do you read it that way, or have you been taught to read it that way? Does the story encourage you to give?

Well, here's a slightly different chapter division that may cast a different light on the story for you.

And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows' houses, and for appearance's sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation." And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; 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."​

Luke 20:45-21:4

 

[tango]

I don't see it specifically as a call to give sacrificially, more a note that the very wealthy who give more than most of us would have if we sold everything we owned don't get the recognition they expect because to them it was pocket change.

The street beggar giving $5 might be everything he has. Someone like Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates giving $100,000,000 looks very good but represents such a small part of their fortune they'll barely notice the money is gone.

You could see it as an encouragement to give sacrificially, although I see it as an encouragement to give even if all I can find is $5 and the guy next to me has just thrown in a big wad of $50s.

 

[1689Dave]

There's a story told in Luke's gospel in chapter 21 that many read as a recommendation to give sacrificially to the church.

Do you read it that way, or have you been taught to read it that way? Does the story encourage you to give?

Well, here's a slightly different chapter division that may cast a different light on the story for you.

And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows' houses, and for appearance's sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation." And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; 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."​

Luke 20:45-21:4

I always give to non-profits where I remain anonymous and can help people who need it most. It actually bothers my conscience to give to churches that stagger people's minds with their wealth.

 

[tango]

I always give to non-profits where I remain anonymous and can help people who need it most. It actually bothers my conscience to give to churches that stagger people's minds with their wealth.

This reminds me of something I saw on faceplant lately.

The gist of it was that people should stop these "pay it forward" chains at the fast-food drive through. The people in line at Charbucks can afford to pay through the nose for low quality milk drinks. If you're going to give money to strangers, go to the local school and put some money towards an overdue lunch account or similar.

I feel much the same as you about churches, even if they aren't staggeringly wealthy. My church doesn't have mindblowing amounts of money sloshing around but every year I've been there one of the discussions at our annual business meeting is what to do with the year's surplus. As soon as the surplus is split between two or three charitable organisations we lose any control over how it is spent and if the church has enough to be seeking to dispose of the surplus it's not like it needs the congregation to increase giving.

The biggest problem I have with looking for the people in need is that they are usually very quiet about their needs. The ones who make the most noise usually aren't the needy ones. I like the idea of paying an overdue account for kids at school whose parents are genuinely strapped for cash but don't really feel like giving money to the family who can afford to buy beer and cigarettes and tattoos but apparently can't afford to pay for Junior's lunch.

 

[MoreCoffee]

Beware of the scribes

who devour widows' houses

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins

. this dot is dedicated to ...

 

[Lamb]

I see the widow's mites in different ways. I see the widow giving more than she could afford to give and to me that makes me feel guilty when I hold back on giving because I don't know if that guy holding the sign on the street is going out to buy drugs with the money, or if he's making a bundle by begging (yes, it happens!). Then I also see the widow giving from her heart and that's encouraging because there are times I don't even think twice about giving something to someone and it doesn't even hit me until later that the Holy Spirit was the one guiding me to just do it. Thanks be to God to not rely on me alone to bear fruit

 

[MoreCoffee]

Then I also see the widow giving from her heart and that's encouraging

It's possible that the widow gave out of her poverty because she had been taught, by the scribes, to believe that giving a donation was giving to God in the hope of receiving a blessing from God. This would be akin to the widows and elderly poor who are taught to give to Kenneth Copeland in anticipation of receiving blessings from God for their gifts to the televangelist.

 

[tango]

The concern about whether someone is buying drugs or begging because it's easier than working is a valid one, and it's not always easy to tell the genuinely needy from the ones trying their luck.

I think one aspect of giving that is often overlooked is the responsibility to be a good steward. It's easy to endlessly justify why we won't give to this and we won't give to that but I think part of good stewardship is doing our best not to give money to the street beggar if it's going to be going up his nose in the next 20 minutes.

Finding out who is genuinely needy and who is just having a good whinge takes time and effort to get close to people and figure out where the needs are. It's so much more involved than just writing a check and forgetting about it. The people with real needs are unlikely to make them known unless they trust the person they are talking with.

 

[Lanman87]

I've looked at the widow's mite this way. She was giving all she had, which is what we are supposed to do at Christians. Some of us have the ability to give both time and money to further the Gospel. However, all our situations are different. In the end, it isn't about how much you give but the heart in which it is given.

If all you can do, due to health or other reasons, is pray for your friends and neighbors then God honors that just as much as those giving great sums of money. And even more than those who give great sums of money for the wrong reasons.

 

[MoreCoffee]

Some of the Church Fathers say things like this

Whatever we offer to the Almighty with a good intention is acceptable to him; for he regards not the gift, but the heart of the giver. (Ven. Bede)​

​

God does not appreciate the smallness of the gift, but the greatness of the affection with which it is offered. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. i. ad Hebræos.)​

 

[tango]

Some of the Church Fathers say things like this

Whatever we offer to the Almighty with a good intention is acceptable to him; for he regards not the gift, but the heart of the giver. (Ven. Bede)​

​

God does not appreciate the smallness of the gift, but the greatness of the affection with which it is offered. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. i. ad Hebræos.)​

... and before that came ...

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2Co 9:7)