I don’t know about you, but I love it when I see wealthy people giving their money away. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t see their giving as in any way sacrificial. They will still have more money in their possession than any of us will ever dream of. But still, it was quite a sight a few years back to see 168 billionaires (yes, that is billionaire with a b) worldwide line up with Bill Gates, the richest man in the world and Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the world, to announce that they will give away at least half of their wealth by the time they die to help fund a wide variety of worthwhile causes.
Of course, you don’t have to be a billionaire to make such a declaration. I understand that actor Jackie Chan of Chinese Kung Fu movie fame has announced that he would give away half of his net worth. Unfortunately his contribution will be based on a paltry $350 million of wealth, hardly worth mentioning. But still it’s a start.
One day Jesus saw a group of wealthy men lining up to give a portion of their wealth at the Temple. They were making a big show of presenting their offerings. They wanted people to be aware of their charity. They used large coins so that when the pieces of money fell into the box an impressive clanging sound could be heard by all.
Of course, such demonstrations of public piety were not restricted to the first century A. D. Today the wealthy love to see their names on libraries, press boxes, foundations, scholarships offered by prestigious universities, etc. Don’t get me wrong. Society is made better because of their generosity. But don’t be misled. In most cases these acts of generosity cost these wealthy donors very little. They still have more on hand than they could ever spend. Their situation is unlike that of a certain poor widow that Jesus observed quietly bringing her gift to present to God.
This poor widow had only two tiny coins to her name, the widow’s mite, an offering with a value of about a penny. That is all she could possibly offer God.
Probably no one else in the crowd even noticed her giving her offering. But Jesus did. Jesus noticed her. He called together his disciples and said to them, “That widow put more money in the treasury than anybody else, because they shared out of their abundance, but she gave all she had.” Did you catch that? According to Jesus, her gift was more significant than Bill Gates’ or Warren Buffett’s billions, because God measures not how much you give, but how much you have left over. If your giving is not sacrificial, God is not impressed.
Jesus was always thrilled to see authentic faith being lived out. Is there any question this poor widow loved God? She put her money where her heart was. She gave all she had. And Jesus praised her.
I want us to look very carefully at the actions of this widow this morning. I believe some other things might be significant here--some elements we might normally have overlooked--that went to make up her devotion to God and to win for her Jesus’ praise. I’ve spoken about some of these before, but it would be a shame if we ignored them.
I want to suggest, first of all, that her act of devotion was an indication that she had forgiven God. Now please, before you accuse me of blasphemy, hear me out. Hear with your heart and not just with your head. This lady was a widow. She had lost her husband. Some of you have experienced that event and you are wise enough to know not only of the hurt and loneliness that may bring, but also the temptation to bitterness and anger.
Most of us are familiar with the sensitive work of a psychiatrist named Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a pioneer in near-death studies who herself died just a few years back. In 1969 she was the author of a groundbreaking book titled On Death and Dying.
It was in that book in which she first described the five stages of grief. Grief for most people is an ongoing process that must be overcome one step at a time. The five stages which Dr. Kübler-Ross described are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. They provide a framework that helps us go on living after we lose someone we love.
Some people with great faith handle these stages quite easily; others sometimes become bogged down in one of these stages of grief and never really come out on the other side. We don’t have time to deal with each of these steps, but consider for a moment that third step--anger. It is not unusual for a person who has loved someone very dearly and that person has died, to be angry, first of all, at the one who has died. “How could you leave me in this situation?” they cry out to someone no longer capable of hearing them.
It’s also not unusual for that person to be angry at themselves, “Oh, if I had just done things differently maybe he would still be around.” There’s someone in the room today who has been there.
And, finally, it’s not unusual, in that situation, to be angry with God. “Why didn’t God spare him? If God can do anything, why didn’t he spare my loved one?”
None of us can deal very well with the idea of losing someone we love. Even though we know God has prepared a place for our loved one with Him that is far more perfect than our existence here, it is still difficult to let go.
There is a beautiful story about a man who was walking down a road when he saw a young boy up in a tree straddling a limb. He noticed the boy had a leaf in his hand and some string, and he was trying to tie a leaf back on a twig on the tree. He asked the young fellow what he was doing.
The young boy replied that his sister was very, very ill. She was near death, and the doctor had told his family that “before the last leaf shall fall from the tree in the front yard, she will be gone.”
The little boy didn’t want her to die so he was tying the leaves back on the trees as if that could spare his sister’s life. (1)
None of us can deal very well with the idea of losing someone we love. When that event does occur it takes time for healing to take place. One of the obstacles to healing may be our resentment toward God.
The first thing that this widow may have been saying as she dropped her two coins into the temple treasury is: “I’ve come to grips with my grief. I’m over my resentment. I am at peace with God.”
There’s a second thing that widow may have been saying as she dropped in those two coins. It was this: I Trust God. You see there was no Social Security, no pension, no monthly check she would be receiving now that her husband was gone. Widows were quite vulnerable. Unless her husband was a wealthy man or unless she had children to support her or perhaps other family members that would take her in, she was at the mercy of a sometimes heartless society.
Jesus indicated her poverty, when he said that those two coins were all she had. If indeed, she did give all she had, she must have done it trusting that God would provide her with her daily bread. That’s a tremendous amount of trust.
That kind of trust, that kind of confidence, that kind of hope is pleasing to God.
The late United Methodist Bishop, Charles Golden, told of visiting a mission school in India where the students sang an African-American spiritual. They sang it to him as a courtesy, he said, because he’s a Black man. They sang I Got Shoes.
Bishop Golden said he suddenly realized these children who sang that old spiritual about having shoes were all barefooted. It reminded him that when his people had composed and sung that song, they too were barefooted. They were singing a song of hope and trust for they knew there were shoes laid up in heaven for them. (2)
Remember how it goes? “I got shoes. You got shoes. All God’s children got shoes. When I get to heaven, I’m going to put on my shoes and walk all over God’s heaven.” I may be barefoot right now--this may be my last two coins I’m dropping in the temple treasury--but God will provide.
This may have been this widow’s way of saying, “I know God will provide for me.” This widow had forgiven God and she trusted God. Would that we could trust as much as she did.
Here’s the final thing her offering may have said that day: She believed in the work of God. The work of the temple was important to her and she wanted to support it. She wanted to put God first in her life.
Doug Sherman and William Hendricks tell about a man of their acquaintance who owns an especially lucrative business. Several years ago he and his wife went to see a strategic planner to help them chart their course for the rest of their lives. For the better part of a morning, the consultant listened to them talk about themselves, their goals and aspirations, and what they wanted out of life.
Finally, the consultant took out a piece of blank paper and drew a small box at the top of it. Out to the side he wrote two words: Jesus and money. Then he looked at the couple and said, “From what you’ve told me this morning, there are two major forces that have powered your life up to now. But as I see it, you’re at a point where one or the other has to have priority. Now, you tell me which one of these words to put in the box, and I’ll tell you how to map out a strategy. If you want Jesus in the box, fine; I’ll show you how you can organize your life around him. If you want money, I can show you how to do that. Which word do you want in the box?”
According to my friend, that room was quiet for about three or four minutes. The couple didn’t say a word to each other; they didn’t need to. They realized that they had come to a fork in the road where they were going to have to decide which agenda mattered--the financial interests of their business, or their commitment to Christ. We’re told the couple chose to put Jesus in the box. By their own testimony, it’s made a most profound difference in the course of their lives ever since. (3)
Which word would you have put in the box? Which is your greater priority--Jesus or money? This widow spent her last two coins on the work of God rather than on herself. The work of God was important in her life.
Robert Schnase wrote a book, which he titled Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. Let me read you a few lines from that book:
“Every sanctuary and chapel in which we have worshiped, every church organ that has lifted our spirits, every pew where we have sat, every communion rail where we have knelt, every hymnal from which we have sung, every praise band that has touched our hearts, every church classroom where we have gathered with our friends, every church kitchen that has prepared our meals, every church van that has taken us to camp, every church camp cabin where we have slept--all are the fruit of someone’s Extravagant Generosity. We have been the recipients of grace upon grace. We are the heirs, the beneficiaries of those who came before us who were touched by the generosity of Christ enough to give graciously so that we could experience the truth of Christ for ourselves. We owe the same to generations to come.” (4)
Doubtless, it was with pleasure that this widow dropped in her coins for she knew she was part of something bigger than herself. That is true whether we are giving to God or whether we are helping some of God’s children.
A certain woman lost her husband and she was having difficulty moving through the stages of grief. For weeks, she went each day to the cemetery to put flowers on his grave. She simply could not let go. No matter what she did it seemed that her grief would not dissipate. In her despair, she went to her doctor for a check-up. When she told him about taking the flowers each day to the cemetery, her doctor made a gentle suggestion.
He said, “Instead of taking flowers to the cemetery, let me suggest you take them to the hospital. I have two patients who are alone. They have no family in this city and they would really enjoy receiving some fresh flowers. Why not take those fresh flowers, for one day, to the hospital rather than to the cemetery? Ask them about their progress and give them some encouragement. See if there is anything you can do for them.”
The lady took the doctor’s suggestion. She took the flowers to the hospital rather than to the cemetery. Soon she was able to work through her grief.
Those coins, dropped in the temple treasury that day, may have been an important part of this widow’s recovery from her grief experience. By dropping in those coins she realized she was part of something bigger than herself. She was participating in God’s work on earth. No wonder Jesus was pleased to see her make her offering. No wonder he praised her to his disciples. She had been victorious over her grief. She trusted God for her daily bread, and she was involved in the ongoing work of the kingdom. In fact, in God’s eyes this poor widow gave Him more than Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Jackie Chan put together.
1. Jerry Hayner, God’s Best to You (Nashville: Broadman Press).
2. Dr. Stan Brown, Catalina (AZ) UMC News, “Monday Morning.”
3. How to Succeed Where It Really Counts (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1989), pp. 82-83.
4. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011).