The Best Giver in the Church: Part 4

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

Jesus didn’t often get excited. His usual demeanor seems to have been reserved, calm, and composed. But on this occasion He got a little excited as He huddled His apostles to tell them about a big contribution that had been made in the Temple. Perhaps the disciples thought He was about to tell them about a gift made by a wealthy business owner or a rich sheep farmer but it ended up being the one they least expected to be a hero. Jesus never paid many compliments while on earth¹, but this poor, unnamed widow received one of them.

“And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury” (Mark 12:43).

What did the disciples learn from this day spent in the treasury?

The Best Gift Is Not Necessarily the Largest.

The best gift is the one that is the most expensive to the giver. Many that day made a contribution; the widow made a sacrifice. They gave a little of their abundance; she gave an abundance of her little. The rich did not deny themselves a single pleasure to give; she denied herself every necessity. They did not have less to eat nor less to wear nor less comfortable homes; she did. Her gift was costly. When those two mites slipped from her lean fingers, her assets bottomed out. To put it plainly, it was her next meal.

Some Christians have never sacrificed anything they really wanted (much less needed), in order to put in the plate. Let’s be honest. Have we done without any pleasure to give more to God’s work? Have we missed a ballgame, ate at home instead of going out, worn the same clothes for another year, or denied our children some toys or diversions? Think of sitting in worship and singing, “Were the whole realm of Nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all,” and at the same time hoping we have a dollar in our pocket so we aren’t forced to give ten! A missionary in Chile experienced a bizarre tradition at a Catholic neighbor’s funeral. During the service an offering was collected. The priest said, “Thank you for your participation in the salvation of this man.” After hearing this and seeing only small change in the plate, the missionary thought, “If they really believed their offering would help save this man, wouldn’t they sacrifice and give more?” The missionary then thought, “I, and many others, profess the truth about salvation through faith in Christ. Yet, if I really believe it, wouldn’t I be giving more for spreading the good news of Jesus Christ?”

Christ puts His stamp of approval only on giving that costs the giver (Exodus 35:21-29; Acts 11:29; 2 Corinthians 8:2, 12; 9:6-8). King David said to Araunah, “I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24a). God’s gifts to us cost Him (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:15); ours to Him should cost us. We may pat ourselves on the back for giving 10% or 15%, but when we think of what we have left, it may look small. Great giving has a little recklessness (faith) in it. The widow could have kept one coin. It would not have been much, but it would have been something. Nonetheless, she threw herself on God’s mercy.

In Giving, the Poor Are On Equal Footing With the Rich.

There are not many areas in life where the poor and the rich get equal treatment. Most of the time, rich folks have the cards stacked in their favor. But one area where the poor have just as much opportunity to succeed as the rich is—of all places—in giving. Those with the smallest incomes have exactly the same opportunity to win God’s approval as those who have the largest. God loves both equally: “The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all” (Proverbs 22:2). The biggest giver in the congregation this year may be the one who gives the least but who makes the greatest sacrifice to do it.² Then, again, it may be the one who has most and still sacrifices to give generously. All of us are graded by what we have left, not by what we put in. The wise man said, “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches” (Proverbs 13:7).

God is looking for our “best offer” on Sundays. During his service in the Navy, Jimmy Carter applied for the nuclear submarine program. The legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover interviewed him for the job. Toward the end of the interview the Admiral asked, “How did you stand in your class at the Naval Academy?” Carter proudly answered, “Sir, I stood fifty-ninth in a class of 820.” He expected congratulations but got a different response. Rickover asked, “Did you do your best?” The future president started to say, “Yes, sir,” but took a moment to reflect and had to admit there were times when he had not given his best. He finally replied, “No, sir, I didn’t always do my best.” Admiral Rickover looked at Carter for a long time, then asked a final question, “Why not?” In our giving, is God getting our best?³

All Contributions Are Counted Twice - Once By Man, Once By God.

Had you been nearby when the priests counted the money that day, you would not have heard any praise for the widow’s gift. One might have said, laughing, “Hey, look! Someone put in two mites. That was hardly worth the trouble.” There was something in the widow’s gift that went beyond the power of an adding machine to calculate. God measures with a different ruler than man. In the sight of the One who looks on the heart, these small mites were big business (Matthew 13:31-32; cf. Zechariah 4:10). Jesus promised, “He that giveth a cup of cold water shall not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). A small gift may be a big investment in heaven.

The transferring of these two mites from her hand to God’s has proved to be one of the world’s most famous financial transactions. (We still talk about it two thousand years later!)

Endnotes:

¹Jesus complimented John (Matthew 11:11), the Syrophenician woman (Matthew 15:28), Mary (Luke 10:42), and Nathanael (John 1:47).
²One year in the Jacksonville congregation, for instance, the best giver was a child who gave her entire allowance every week. Who could top 100% giving?!
³Executive Speechwriter Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 4