The Best Giver in the Church: Part 2

Allen Webster

Topic(s): Blessings, Faith, Priorities

Links to this entire series:

• The Best Giver in the Church: Part 1
• The Best Giver in the Church: Part 2
• The Best Giver in the Church: Part 3
• The Best Giver in the Church: Part 4
• The Best Giver in the Church: Part 5

This is a case of “less is more.” The one giver who did not put much in the day Jesus visited the Temple was the one He announced gave the most!

“And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing” (Mark 12:42).

Life had not lately smiled on this woman. She had buried her husband, and, like many widows, now felt poverty’s pinch. She wasn’t just barely getting by—she wasn’t nearly that well off!¹ She had not the fraction of a penny in the jar on the shelf above her sink. All she had in the world she held in her hand and that was so little that she must have been half ashamed to give it. A mite² was the smallest coin in circulation and had the purchasing power of about two cents. She had two mites (a farthing), so she put in the equivalent of four cents. She is still the best giver in the New Testament! She gave the most because she gave everything she had. What could possibly motivate a person to give everything to the Lord? Let’s explore her possible motivations.

She May Have Given Because...

She Knew It Was Her Duty to Give.

Being a Jew, she would have been knowledgeable of the Old Law and its requirement to give God something in worship. “Duty” was a concept Jews recognized. At one time in our culture, “duty, honor, and country” were popular words. Nowadays, many don’t like to hear about any “duty.” But it is still a good word. A husband has a duty to support his family. Parents have a duty to take care of their own children. And, we have a duty to serve God. A part of our duty to God is to give in worship. The Bible says, “Upon the first day of the week [when] let every one of you [who] lay by him in store [what], as God hath prospered him [how much], that there be no gatherings when I come [why]” (1 Corinthians 16:2). We also have a duty to “remember the poor” (Galatians 2:10), which can be partially carried out through helping the church’s benevolent efforts.

The giver’s personal relationship with church leaders does not affect the duty to give to God.

Occasionally a church member gives liberally when he likes the preacher or agrees with the elders but, let a sermon or decision rub him the wrong way, and he will withhold his check. He leaves the service that day without having worshipped God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). It is our duty to give to God (not the preacher, elders, or even the church) as we have been prospered every Lord’s day of our Christian lives. To do otherwise is to commit a robbery! (“Will a man rob God?, Malachi 3:8).

The amount one has to give does not affect the duty to give.

This widow could have reasoned, “What are two mites to Him who owns a thousand hills full of cattle?³ They mean a lot to me for they are all I have. Let those give who can afford it. I don’t have a penny to spare.” But she did not. A Christian teenager with a $10 weekly allowance has the same duty to give as the businessman making a $1000 a week. Jesus explained, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10). In other words, a man who will give faithfully with $10 will also give faithfully with a $1000. A man who will steal a newspaper would steal a car if he thought he wouldn’t get caught. Imagine someone today beats U.S.A Today out of a $.50 by taking two papers instead of one. He says, “The company is large. They’ll never miss a couple of quarters.” That is not the question. U.S. Today can get by without it, but he cannot get by without being honest.

It is not that Christ cannot carry on His work without our gifts. It is that we cannot continue without handling the Lord’s gifts faithfully. Without so doing, we cannot hope to win His approval and hear Him say: “Ye have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things” (Matthew 25:21). In His divine wisdom, God chose to make His kingdom dependent on our gifts. Overcoming our selfishness in giving is one means God uses to develop our character. To always to be on the receiving end tends to make a person selfish; on the other hand, to give generously enlarges the heart and develops the highest qualities of Christian character. Palestinian geography illustrates this point The sparkling Sea of Galilee is filled with all manner of marine life. Many varieties of birds and animals make their homes in the grass, flowers, and trees that surround it. But the Dead Sea is twenty-five percent mineral and is surrounded by barren deserts. A swimmer cannot sink to the bottom. The only life on its shores is a few snakes, lizards, and scorpions. No birds sing. What makes the difference? The Sea of Galilee has an outlet, the Dead Sea does not. One receives and gives; the other only receives. They symbolize two classes of people—those who recognize their duty to God and give back from what He has given, and those who take God’s blessings but never give anything back.

She Thought She Could Help.

She might have thought, “I can’t give much, but my little bit added to the little of all the other poor people will make enough to do some good.” She likely knew that these contributions would be used to help defray the expenses of the daily Temple sacrifices. Each of the thirteen “trumpets” was for a different purpose. One was for buying corn for sacrifices, another for wine, a third for oil, a fourth for buying wood to burn sacrifices, another for the incense to burn on the altar, and even one for the upkeep of the golden vessels. She may have thought, “I can’t buy the lamb they’ll over next week, but I can buy the wood they’ll use to offer it.” Our money, though it is a small amount, is used for the promotion of the Kingdom. We should not underestimate how far God can “stretch a dollar.” He “shrunk a dollar” in Haggai’s day, "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. and is able to reverse the process to “multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness” (2 Corinthians 9:10). Paul commended the Philippians for their assistance in his ministry (4:15-16). Imagine their happiness in the judgment as they meet men for the first time who were taught the Gospel by Paul, who was assisted by their money. If you can imagine that, then you can imagine our joy at meeting those we have helped convert through the missionaries we support.