Money Matters: Giving as Worship

by Marilynn Chadwick

I shared yesterday how my friend Angela challenged me with her sacrificial giving and great faith. She firmly believes the poor widow in Luke’s story had seen God come through for her before (Luke 21:1-4). She had faith he would care for her again. But it was Angela’s final comment that brought a new dimension to the power of the widow’s gift. Angela said quietly, “For this woman, her gift is her worship. This story of the poor widow is all about worship.”

No one else in Luke’s accounts of Jesus’s teachings did what the poor widow did—which was to give away “all she had to live on.” The poor widow’s offering, though meager, was remarkable when weighed against what she had. If her gift was truly her worship—as my friend Angela believes—then her offering to God stands as a silent but powerful rebuttal to the worship of power, prestige, and money, both then and now.

Luke’s account of the widow’s mite challenges us even today. We’ve seen how Luke speaks repeatedly of the “divine reversal” and points us to another kingdom—an eternal kingdom. He reminds us to beware of the false teaching and corrupt examples of the religious leaders and their oppressive treatment of the poor.

Jesus calls us as believers to refuse to follow their worship of money, status, and appearances. We’re also called to “look up,” as Jesus did (Luke 21:1). We are to look up and see the poor—who are often invisible to us—with new eyes.

Luke won’t let us forget to speak up and to give generously. God’s people have an ongoing responsibility to advocate on behalf of the poor. But let’s reflect further on the poor widow’s example. What can we learn from her?

Those who are most affluent sometimes criticize the poor for not “saving their money” or for sharing with others when they should “take care of themselves.” Studies have consistently shown the poor give proportionately more of their income than the wealthy. Some believe the poor give more because they require less to be happy. "When you have just a little, you're thankful for what you have," said the pastor of a tithing, largely low-income congregation in Washington, D.C. "But with every step you take up the ladder of success, the money clouds your mind and gets you into a state of never being satisfied.”

Let’s be inspired by my friend Angela’s generosity. Challenged to give sacrificially. To explore practical, “doable” ways to engage with the poor. It’s easy to speak out about the injustice we see around us—much harder to take steps of action. Dare to pray about how you can become more generous. Move beyond the tithe? Simplify your lifestyle? Share your home through hospitality? A wise person once said, “You can’t do everything, but you can do something.” Even the smallest gift can make a big difference when you put it in God’s hands.

Money Matters: God, Our Provider

by Marilynn Chadwick

Why does Luke choose to highlight this particular poor widow’s gift in Jesus’s showdown with the scribes in Luke 21:1-4? Perhaps, as discussed earlier, she is an example of Luke’s theme of “divine reversal.” Luke consistently honors the smallest of things—small children, outsiders, widows, and especially the poor. Or perhaps it’s because her gift was the most sacrificial of all.

But what if the widow’s gift represents something more? I decided to look at this story through the eyes of a very generous friend who had actually experienced poverty. I find it valuable to look at stories about the poor from the perspective of those who have actually experienced poverty themselves.

Angela, a deacon in her congregation, had immigrated to the US from Africa many years ago at age fifteen when she fled the horrific civil war. She landed in LaGuardia, alone and not speaking any English. Angela managed to receive an education, married, and raised a family. Now a grandmother, Angela works as a home health care assistant and makes enough to live on—barely.

I asked her this question: “What do you see in the story of this widow?” Angela answered, “I see this poor widow as a woman of deep faith.” She added, “She was not a victim but a survivor.” Then as an afterthought, “This woman knew God as her Jehovah Jireh, her Provider.

Now, this particular friend is a tither and gives sacrificially to those who are poor. She carries “care packages” in her car to share with the homeless. Sometimes she creates outdoor events to offer free food and clothing. She trusts God to provide.

Angela challenges me with her lavish generosity and great faith: “I believe this poor widow had seen God come through for her before.” Angela is sure the Lord didn’t let the widow’s sacrificial gift go unnoticed. She challenges us to see this poor widow through different eyes—as a survivor, with courage, persistence, and generosity. And more importantly, as an example of great faith.

The growing numbers of poor in our city have broken Angela’s heart. She waged a singlehanded effort to feed the hungry, encouraging her church friends to help her cook meals and prepare care bags for the homeless. She often gives money that she could use for herself. Her joy has inspired others to join her cause. I feel sure when Jesus looks at Angela, he and all of heaven is applauding her sacrificial gifts.

Money Matters: Generosity, the Evidence of Faith

by Marilynn Chadwick

We’ve seen how Luke compared the Temple offerings of the rich people with the sacrificial gift from the poor widow: Jesus looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:1-4 ESV).

Jesus criticized the rich, who merely gave “out of their abundance [perisseuo]” (Luke 21:4). Perisseuo can be translated excess or surplus; spare change; or even leftovers. Luke makes no mention of size, implying only that Jesus knew their gifts would not be missed.

The Greek phrase used to describe the widow’s gift, ek tou hysterematos, is translated “out of her poverty” (Luke 21:4). The King James version renders hysterematos as “penury,” an old English term describing a destitute beggar.

The widow’s extreme poverty helps us understand the sacrificial nature of her gift. Jesus knew she gave everything. He honors this widow who gave “all she had to live on,” while denouncing the wicked abuse of those who oversaw the Temple system and tragically neglected the poor.

God’s Holy Temple was to be the place to care for the poor, not crush them. In Old Testament times, the ministry of the Jewish Temple was to provide for widows and the poor. “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation” (Psalms 68:5). This theme is also present throughout Deuteronomy (10:17-18; 24:17; 27:19).

Luke emphasizes Jesus’s public attack of this Temple evil. When we look at the widow’s gift in Luke’s Gospel, she seems to shine brightly as the most generous with her offering. Jesus recognized that this poor widow gave that which the rich young ruler had refused. And proportionately, she outgave Zacchaeus (Luke 18,19). She even bypassed the religious leaders and all the rich with her extravagant gift (21:4).

Her story reminds us of the story of the poor widow of Zarephath. She, too, gave “all she had to live on.” Believing the “word of the Lord” through Elijah, the widow gave her last bit of meal and oil (1 Kings 17:16-24). The poor woman’s great faith resulted in supernatural provision for herself, her son, and Elijah.

The poor widow’s gift in Luke was a similar act of faith according to Ambrose, an Early Church Father. He wrote that Jesus honored the widow’s two mites because “that precious poverty of hers was rich in the mystery of faith.” May our generous giving help us understand this same mystery of faith today.