The Best of Things in the Worst of Times! “And He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. And He called His disciples to Him, and said to them, „Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.‟” Have you got a penny in your pocket? If so, take it out and study it. Suppose an archeologist found such a coin 2,000 years from now. Imagine what a penny would tell him about us. Its circular form would tell him that we knew something about geometry. The date would tell him we knew of calendars. The Lincoln Memorial would reveal our knowledge of architecture. “E Pluribus Unum” would say we knew a bit about foreign language. And of course, “In God We Trust” would speak of our governmental knowhow. All of this just goes to show that money talks! It always has. It probably always will. And in our text for today an impoverished widow talks about herself through her money. Let‟s listen while she speaks. “Dignity” The text tells us that it was giving time in the Temple of Jerusalem. And Jesus went in and sat down where he could watch people make their offerings. And in the midst of the gift bearers comes a poor widow who quietly put in her money. Why? Why did she do it? She was poor enough to have well used the money on herself. So why did she give it anyway? The answer is that it gave her dignity. And in a
world that hadn‟t given her much, that was important. She had no husband, no children are mentioned. She was very poor, always having to bow and scrape for her next meal. But here she slips into the temple and quietly makes an offering to God. I began my ministry career in Virginia. Soon after arriving a deacon came to me and showed a check a poor widow in the church had given as a tithe. “She doesn‟t have it to give,” the deacon explained. And he went on to say how the deacons voted unanimously for the pastor to visit her and tell her that in her condition she didn‟t have to give. Well, I was a young pastor, and not knowing better paid her a call and explained to her that she was too poor to give and suggested she withhold her tithe. Suddenly, the old woman looked very tired and sad. A tear dribbled down her cheek. “Pastor,” she said, “you‟ve just taken away the last dignity that I have.” Giving was her way of showing her partnership with God. Tithing was her way of contributing to the greatest cause of planet Earth--the Gospel of Jesus. Her offering was one of the chief ways she could respond to the cross. And so it was with the widow in the text. It gave her dignity in a world that hadn‟t given her much. Poor, frail, alone, unknown, she could still slip into the temple and in cahoots with God do what she could by giving to the cause. What about you? Do you have dignity? Maybe you live in a hundred thousand dollar house. Perhaps you have a college education or better. Maybe your name is well known about town. And just maybe your salary is in such big numbers you can vacation at will, dine in all the right places and drive the most splendid of automobiles. Yet I tell you this widow woman in one deft act could sweep all that aside in one moment and have greater dignity than all that. For when she tithed she identified with God. Go ahead! Ask her who she is, what she does. She‟ll take you by the hand and lead you to a quiet part of the Temple, and there with head erect, shoulders squared, and eyes flashing, she won‟t tell you she‟s poor or she‟s a widow. She‟ll say, “Who am I? I‟m a Daughter of Israel, a Child of the righteous covenant of Almighty God. And I just came here to give because in giving God allows me to be partners in ministry with Him. Yes sir, I work with God!” In our church a member says that the church he just moved from in Texas used to pass the offering plates and the congregation would burst into applause out of appreciation that God would use them for His work. Yes sir, there is dignity in giving! Thank God! “Sacrifice” Passing on, you will notice in the text that the widow gave sacrificially. Rich people were putting in large sums of money, but they‟d never miss it. Yet this woman slipped in with two copper coins together worth a penny. And there among the gold and silver she left her copper treasure. And Jesus, seeing her gift, commented, “This poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.” Dear people, the measure of a gift is the sacrifice it takes to give it. Haven‟t you had people come to you in summer when tomato vines are full, and they want to give you a bag of tomatoes? And these well meaning souls say to you something like, “I‟ve got so many tomatoes I can‟t eat them or even give them away before they rot. Here, I want you to have some!” Not much sacrifice in that gift, eh?
Dear people, if we only give away what we can‟t use or don‟t want then we use people or God as a garbage can! How much more meaningful the gift when we can say, “Here! Take this. It means the world to me. But you are so much more special and I want you to have it!” The rich in the text weren‟t giving like that. Out of their abundance they gave 5, 10, even 15 percent. And, oh, to some the gift looked big. But they never missed it. Yet the widow, poor as she was, gave her penny. It was all she had, a sacrifice of love. And Jesus said her gift was largest of all. Why not personally try to begin giving like this woman whom Christ commended? Quit giving just the sum your accountant says will put you in the best tax position. Give so that you have to deny yourself something---a new car, a third vacation, or perhaps a new wardrobe. A distinguished British author said that he recently visited an American home that seemed to have everything: two cars in the garage, a beautiful living room with expensive furniture, a color TV set, a kitchen filled with the latest gadgets, a large swimming pool and patio. “Yet,” he said, “on the coffee table was a book entitled, How to be Happy.” Don‟t you see? When we have it all, when our every whim is satisfied with immediate gratification, then there is nothing to expect, nothing to wonder about, nothing to anticipate with relish. And joy slips away. John Barth titled his latest novel, Lost in the Funhouse. And so it is for many of us. We‟re not down and outers. We‟re just up and outers, lost in the funhouse of too much food, too much splendor, too much immediate gratification. And this text is saying that the way out can be sacrificial giving. Go ahead; give more than the leftovers, the scraps and the crumbs. Give so that you deny yourself something. Give with sacrifice! Give so that you give away something you really want. Give so that you don‟t use God as a tax deduction or a garbage can! “Secretly” Yes, money talks! And our text is saying that this lady‟s offerings lent her a sturdy dignity in a world that hadn‟t given her much. And it‟s also quick; the text is, to point out that she gave sacrificially. Now, note with me one final truth of the text. Not only did she give sacrificially. She also gave secretly. The Pharisees would march in with their bulging purses, trumpets would be blown, and with great fanfare each gold coin would be dropped into the treasury ostentatiously. Yet not so with this widow! She slipped in quietly. The only thing conspicuous about her was her inconspicuousness. And with simple charity she deposited her coins and left. Isn‟t it interesting that the text makes no mention of anyone even noticing the woman except Jesus? Why, we don‟t even know her name. She is for us the Great Unknown Solider of tithing! No bells or trumpets heralded her tithe. No one even saw what she gave except God. Can we not give like her? Quietly, secretly, without bronze plaques, commemorative ceremonies, published lists. Can we not give, as Jesus said, “So that your right hand doesn‟t know what your left hand is doing”?
“Right on the Money!” We have an old saying here in the South when something agrees with us. We explain, “Yes! That‟s right on the money!” And certainly we can say that about this widow woman in the text. She‟s right. She‟s right on the money! And from this, God‟s Word, we are ourselves challenged to make a conscious, prayerful, personal, willful decision to identify with God‟s work, to give secretly, and to give sacrificially. Where you are right now, pray! Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to put in your heart a financial figure that He wants you to give. When you think He‟s spoken to you, look to see if the figure demands sacrifice on your part. When you are satisfied, vow that sum to God and trust Him to give it to you to give! And then don‟t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give in secret! The money that you contribute to the treasury here will go completely for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. It will help support the preaching and teaching of the Word, the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. It supports mission evangelism work in Pakistan and on the college campus. It provides for printed sermon copies to shut-ins and many others. It provides for a Christian lending library, Gideon work, teen fellowship and Christian counseling. It funds a staff of elders and a troop of deacons too! In short, it in the Spirit of God is used to build this church and others like it around the nation and world, to build them up into salty and light-filled communities of ministry demonstrating before a watching world the Kingdom of God come among us. Dear people, look to the poor widow in the text whom Christ commended. Giving gave her dignity. She gave sacrificially and in secret. Let‟s do the same this year. And in the Spirit of the Living, Watching Christ, give so that God will turn to Gabriel and say, “Would you just look at those Christians! They are right on the money!” Suggested Prayer Give me grace, Father, to get started with this hard part of Christian ministry. Provide in me the same habits this exceptional widow had in tithing. For Christ’s sake. Amen