Be Generous Towards God

We enter a new chapter of Luke, but it is hard not to see the striking contrast between this woman and the scribes Jesus has just condemned. Jesus perceives that the two coins she has put into the Temple offering are actually “all she had to live on” (4). This total devotion is in stark contrast to the Jewish leaders and their religion, which seems based on outward show, not the inner heart. She could have put in one of her coins, half of what she had. If she had had just one coin, one can see how the decision to put in everything might have been almost forced on her, but with two coins, this was not the case. She positively chose to offer all she had.

Perhaps Jesus is saying that secret generosity is a good measure of one’s relationship with God. Pharisees like to get money (Luke 20:47), but those who are truly godly give sacrificially and generously. The poor widow who gave all she had into the treasury had given more than the rich people who gave what they felt they could reasonably afford to give out of their abundance. Our priorities in giving show where our priorities lie in life. Thus Jesus praises the widow, who by her attitude and action gives an example of how believers should live. “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” (Winston Churchill, 1874–1965).

It seems that God’s way of measuring reality is often different to ours. We tend to appreciate the amount of a gift, not necessarily the sacrifice that went into the giving. His evaluation of resources is very different from our way of giving. Thus a seemingly small gift can be rich in what it both costs and represents.

“Take my silver and my gold, / not a mite will I withhold” (Frances Ridley Havergal, 1836–1879). How do these words challenge you? What will you do with the challenge?