A Widow's Mite

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on. Mark 12:41-44 (NIV)

God's accounting practices do not work in corporate America or with family budgets. For God, a full day's work is counted the same as part-time piddling. Two copper coins are worth more than a sack of gold. What looks like laziness, Jesus considers devotion:

"Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her." - Luke 10:42.

Those who are given much will receive more, while those who hoard the little they have will be cast into darkness.

"When God wants me to give more, He'll give me more money, more time, more resources." That's the cry of those too stressed to feel the warmth of God's embrace.

Perhaps more is the solution, but the Scriptures suggest a different accounting method.

"We are hard pressed on every side," the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:8, "but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." Paul's words are hardly an endorsement for the "give me more and I'll do more" approach to God's work. If we say, "When God wants me to... He will...," we are really claiming that He has not done enough, loved enough, or died enough to satisfy us.

The many "threw in" their wealth. The widow "put in" all she had.

Have we? Have we put our whole heart into the task to which we've been called? Have we put in the time necessary to carry forward His message of hope and life? Or are we waiting for a greater calling, heartier encouragement, or a larger field of work?

God often begins with menial assignments, tiny tithes, and insignificant gestures. In the small matters, His kingdom's economy prospers. God has given us all we need. We only need to give back all we have.

With permission from My Father's Business: 30 Inspirational Stories for Discerning and Doing God's Will by Eddie Jones.