GIving

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

GIVING

Luke 21:1-4

21:1 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.   3 "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." 

NIV

It would seem easy for those rich men to put something in the temple treasury, as they are rich and have an abundance of wealth. It seems it would not be so easy for this widow to give so very little yet to give all that she had to live on. Is our lesson about giving to the church? It would seem the obvious lesson, yet there is also something to see about the divine nature of Jesus and his observations of both the rich and the poor. Perhaps it is about the motives for giving that he noticed and mentioned. It would seem the rich make it public as to how much they give, and perhaps Jesus knew the percentage of their giving was minuscule in comparison to what their spent on their lavish lifestyle, while this poor lady who lived in poverty gave so little yet it was all she had. Jesus sees our motives. He sees the hearts of the rich and the poor. He knows why we do what we do. The rich certainly do not need to trust God for their daily bread, they material needs, as they have made sure they have all they need. The poor, on the other hand, certainly need to trust God, if they are going to survive this life. If those of us who might be considered poor and we do not give to God, especially which belongs to God, but in this case it is specifically money, we should consider ourselves having been corrected by this lesson. It does not matter how much we give, as the rich can give much and the poor have little to give. What matters is the attitude of our hearts in our giving. Sure the rich do not need that which they give because they have so much more, and therefore they might experience a little pride in their giving, perhaps not publicly but within. Of course we do not and cannot know their hearts, but Jesus does. Those of us who are not rich, or at least in comparison to the rich, are more likely to miss the amount of money given.  But Jesus knows the heart of those who are poor and sees the trust they have in him, giving even though they could use that money for their own survival. The point we should take from all is not just about giving, but about the attitude of our heart in trusting God for every aspect of our lives. Yes we need to give to the Lord, but once again what is the point of giving. Here we do see the people gave to the temple treasury. Was it to support the temple, the upkeep of the temple, or to pay the temple staff, or was it their tithe to God? We simply do not know which, but what we know is Jesus sees our giving and the attitude of it. Today we have turned giving into either an obligation as well as a tax deduction or an opportunity to be known as a generous giver, by the volunteers who count the offering, the staff who records all the giving and most likely the pastor who gets a report on the giving. Maybe those who give from their abundance have the right attitude, only Jesus knows, but it is certain, the church has turned giving into a business. It makes sense to this man, my giving is between me and God so cash is the only way to give, no records can be kept, no person can know the amount and my attitude, only God sees both, and that is all that is needed.