Generosity

As I was thinking about God's provision and blessing, I thought about the poor widow who gave all the money she had at the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus was there, sitting in the temple, watching as people gave their offerings. There were wealthy people dropping in large sums. If you can imagine the sound of gold coins being dropped into a wooden box then perhaps you can understand the prestige that the wealthy had as they gave their offerings. It isn't like our churches today, where a nicely folded check is laid in a plate or basket or perhaps dropped into a nicely designed receptacle. In the those days, the offering was noisy and people were watching. I've seen examples of the widow's mite and it was small, about as big around as a pencil eraser and thin. It would would have made next to no noise as if fell softly among the other coins, but Jesus recognized her gift, even if the other worshipers and perhaps even his own disciples, did not. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” (Mark 12:43-44, NLT)

As I thought about the poor widow's gift I was reminded of another passage. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NLT) it says: Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. So often when we think about "sowing generously" we think of giving a lot. But the poor widow didn't give a lot. We often say that it was a lot to her, but if she could only buy a little bit with her coins, then even she knew it wasn't much, just all she had. But Jesus said her little bit was more than the large contributions of the rich.

Let's think about the widow for a moment. First of all, she was a woman. That meant she had little to no rights in that society. It's sad but true; women were seen much like small children, like property. And a woman's value was in what she could do, if she could cook and clean there was some value to her, if she could produce children there was more value, if she could sew there was more value. You see the picture? But that value was usually only to her husband. There was no social security, no state or federal agencies to assist the elderly, no housing assistance or meals on wheels. A woman was dependent on the men in her family to provide for her. A widow could hope that her sons would one day provide for her, but there is no indication that this woman had any children. She would have been seen as cursed, with no husband and no children. People wouldn't have felt sorry for her, they would have thought that she somehow deserved to suffer. And most would never help her. I can't imagine what prompted her to give that last tiny bit of money, but she was obedient. I wonder if God didn't speak to her and tell her to give just to illustrate this lesson: God is much more interested in the attitude of our heart than in the activity of our hands.

Let's think about planting. Where do seeds come from? Beth Moore talks about being in Africa where people are starving from hunger. She said the hardest thing to teach the people there was not to eat the seeds. We usually just throw our seeds out. We see them as waste, but to people who are hurting and hungry, people who don't have enough, seeds are precious. But we have have to be willing to put the seeds into the ground. We have to be willing to wait, to be patient, to cultivate and care for the little sprouts, to protect the young plants. And finally we get a harvest that is much more than the little seeds that we started with. And with the harvest comes new seeds, more opportunity. What you have, be it money, or talent, or knowledge of God, or even time, may seem like nothing more than a handful of seeds. You may look at what you have and think that it is hardly enough for you, that it isn't enough to even bother with. But the key is our attitude, not our amount of talent or money or any of those things. Are we willing to invest it, to lay it on the altar or like the poor widow to drop it in the offering box where it will hardly even be noticed? God will notice, he never misses anything, not one cup of cold water to the least of his children, not one tear drop of his beloved and not one cent given in obedience to him. I wonder how many opportunities go by that we miss just because we haven't got the eyes to see it. Some people look at obstacles and see dead ends, problems, and difficulties. Other people see those same obstacles as opportunities. You may look at your bank account and see a black hole while God may be wanting you to see rich seed just waiting to be planted. You may look at yourself and see average but when God looks at you he sees unique, irreplaceable, precious and family. You may look at your track record and see failure, but God may see training and preparation. Remember it's not about the size of your gift, but what you do with it. God doesn't need your money, but he very much wants our hearts. Are you willing to give him all you've got today? Are you willing, perhaps not to sell all you have and give everything away, but maybe just to ask him what he wants you to do with your time, your money, your talents, your life?