The Heart of the Poor Widow
By: Ellianna Tait
I was watching that day in the temple. I was near Him when he spoke. He pointed over to a woman who stood before us dressed in rags and the lowest of clothing. Seriously! Shouldn’t she have more respect for the place of God, the temple, than to drag her dirty self in here in rags! I was certain Jesus would tell her to leave. He would speak and admonish her that she didn’t belong here. But instead He just watched her as she placed two farthings into the treasury at the temple. Are you kidding me? Two farthings! What type of gift is that? As if God needed two random farthings, they barely add up to equal a penny! She was crazy to think that the Lord would bless her measly gift! I looked over at Jesus in anticipation of the rebuke that He would give. Surely, he would tell us that she shouldn’t have come, this was a place for those rich people we saw earlier to give. Then Jesus looked at all of us and called us close to His side.
He whispered gently with love on His face, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43-44, English Standard Version). I hung my head in shame at the lack of love that I had been portraying in my heart. Of course, Jesus cared about her and her heart and sacrifice.
The story of the poor widow is one that is quoted quite often when speaking about giving. This parable truly shows us how giving to the Lord is something that happens in one’s heart. There were many rich men who brought pieces of what they owned and shamelessly showed the people how much they were giving to the Lord. But, Jesus focused in on the poor woman, the one who loved God so much that she was willing to give all that she had to further His kingdom. And yet, are we willing to do the same? Much of the time, believers love to bring Christ into pieces of our lives, and yet hold tight to certain idols – not truly surrender them before God. Everything that we have been blessed with truly does not belong to us, it all belongs to him. As we view our finances, are we surrendering our wants and needs before the Lord and trusting that He will provide? Are we engaging our heart when we give? Or has it become a habit – just something that we do?
I know that for me, I have struggled with truly giving to the Lord with the right heart. In fact, tithing my income is so second nature to me that I do it quite naturally. But, the Lord does not look on the outward gift, nor the amount, as much as the heart. When I give, I want to be doing it out of heart of humility and posture before God of surrender. Instead of treating tithing like a habit, I want to view each dollar given as one to help the kingdom. Every little bit contributes to His work. So in this season of life, I encourage you to start focusing on the aspect of giving to the Lord while engaging your heart.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7, ESV). The Lord wants you to be able to serve Him with the money that He has given you. A key to giving is to transition into a cheerful heart motive so that you are ready to give what you feel He has called you to with a heart of surrender and trust in Him.
Do you have questions about your finances? Consider meeting with a Peer Financial Coach from the Center for Financial Literacy. They would love to provide guidance on topics such as budgeting, investing, saving, and much more. Book a session!
