“Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, 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 12:43-44
Sitting outside of the temple treasury, Jesus watched as people put in their offerings. Each person put in a different amount of money, with the wealthiest putting in the largest offerings. Then, a widow came by and dropped in two small copper coins, worth only a few cents at that time.
Why did Jesus say this widow gave more than everyone else? Financially speaking, her offering was likely the least of all given that day. Two coins were barely worth a hundredth of a typical day’s wage. But Jesus was not looking at the size of the offering but at the heart behind the offering.
The wealthier worshippers certainly gave more, but their offering was given out of the abundance of their wealth. It was as if they were giving God their leftovers. But the widow, who almost had nothing, gave everything she had to the Lord. Her offering, though meager, showed her devotion to God.
This example is similar to how God regarded the offerings of Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer and offered God the fruit of the ground. Abel was a shepherd and gave God the firstborn from his flock and their fat portions. The Lord had more regard for Abel’s offering than Cain’s but not because He didn’t like farmers or fruit offerings. It was possibly because God saw Abel’s heart had more sincerity and devotion than Cain’s.
When God asks His people to give for His Kingdom, He is not as concerned with the amount that’s given as He is with the motivation behind what’s given. “God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7)” and wants His children to joyfully share the resources He has given us to steward.
Giving is also an exercise in trust. When the widow gave all that she had, she gave up her means of providing for herself. She may not have had enough food to eat that night. If she did, she did not have enough money to buy food the next day. She was trusting that God would provide what she needed. Her only concern with her offering was giving God everything.
This does not mean that believers should purposefully go into poverty to put more money in the offering plate. It means that followers of Christ should check their motivations before giving. Are you giving out of compulsion or out of worship? God loves even small gifts given out of devotion to Him, because “if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have (2 Corinthians 8:12).”
Our offerings are meant to build up God’s Kingdom. Less than 1% of Christian giving goes toward taking the gospel to the most unreached places. If more believers worshipped God through their gifts, the world could be saturated with the love of Christ.