This
is the 22nd post as I attempt to visit everything
(pretty much!) Jesus said about money in the gospels over 2 weeks. In order to
do this I will be putting up around two posts each day. This is coinciding with
a 2-week preaching series that we are going through at Community Church Putney-
Jesus On Money.
'Jesus
sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the
crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in
large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small
copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling
his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has
put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out
of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to
live on.”’
(Mark
12:41-44)
The widow's 'two
very small copper coins’ are called leptons. These were the
smallest denomination coin of the day. Jesus is making a contrast between
amounts given and between the hearts of the givers.
Murray Harris
says of the Widow’s offering,
‘God assesses the ‘value’ of a monetary gift not in terms of the actual amount given, but by comparing what is given with the total financial resources of the giver.’
To God, the
heart of the giver is paramount; but the amount given will always be a gauge of
the heart; just as in all things in the Christian life, talk and behaviour must
have integrity.
Jesus warns each
of us,
“Be on
your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is
hypocrisy" (Luke 12:1)
we can all
become hypocrites; all of us can fall prey to becoming ostentatious and
self-glorifying in our worship and giving; or speaking about the importance of
giving (like I’m doing!) whilst be un-sacrificial compared to our means! Jesus
wants us to become and remain like this poor widow.
Take a moment to ask God to search you:
are you a good talker but a bad doer? Are you giving sacrificially as compared
to the resources at your disposal?
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