THE POOR WIDOW GAVE WITH ALL HER HEART

"And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.  And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:  For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had" 

(Luke 21:1-4)

Jesus said this because He was closely watching when people were slotting in their offerings. But more critically, having been divine, rather Omniscient, Jesus had seen in the spirit the heart within which everyone was giving. For He must have had a vested interest in what spirit people gave and what they gave.

And on account of what He had seen, He made a comment. He said all the rest had given out of material abundance, or rather from leftover, but the poor widow had given more because she gave all she had and she did so cheerfully.

She did not give out of having had material abundance, though. Despite that she was not only poor, but she was also a widow. Yet she gave anyway. Rather she wasn't constrained by her condition. She did not give out of stress or coercion. No not. And upon this, Jesus did appreciate her giving. What do we learn from this account?

There are lessons to be learnt in this.
 

• Is it what we literally give, or the heart out of which we give? 

• Are we not to give out of material abundance?  Does God only appreciate little things?

• When is someone said to have given cheerfully?

Is it what we literally give, or the heart out of which we give?

God connects with the heart, be it in Old or New Testament scripture. And upon this, even when we seem to be doing much, what counts is not what we have done, but the heart from which we do it. So then, what we do with our heart is what God does appreciate.

God is not touched by how much we do, He is rather touched by the heart in which we do all that we may do. For we should give because it is what to do and do it cheerfully. The cheerfulness in which we are urged to give must come from the heart. And this is what pleases God about us. Thus we are not to say; "since I have much, let me give some". For we are to say; "let me give because:

• My heart tells me to

• I have to (Exodus 23:15), (Deuteronomy 16:16)

• There is need to

If the principle is to give out of material abundance, the poor widow wouldn't have had reason to give. On that account therefore, the rich men gave because they had plenty, meaning had they had less, there wouldn't have been reason for them to give. 

Yet the reason is there, the reason is; they had to, and there was need to. For we know that Jesus came to us not that He lacked anything. He (Jesus) was rich, yet He sought, rather in His place, to make us rich (2Corinthians 8:14-15). And upon this, we ought to do anything by learning from Jesus Christ who also is our perfect example. What should therefore go ahead of us is not what we have from which to give, but the need to give. We shouldn't therefore be negative about giving.

God wants us to give cheerfully (2Corinthians 9:6-7). Rather it does not please God for us to act like robots. God wants us to love what we do. So then, we must be cheerful in heart but not simply to appear to be. Upon this, Jesus saw who had given more and who had given less. Not in terms of how much, but in terms of how. 

For the poor widow was cheerful when she gave of her hard earned belongings. For the earth and all its fullness belongs to the Lord (Psalms 24:1). And it is God who gives a blessing with no sorrow (Proverbs 10:22). She loved to have a flourishing relationship with God.

The rich men on the other hand, gave not out of love for God, but for a show of what their social status was.  Rather they did not follow the spiritual principles of giving. Their giving would never touch God, neither would it touch them. For they gave not because they had to, or because there was need to. They gave because there was so much from which they gave. Such a way can never touch God's heart.

Are we not to give out of material abundance? Does God only appreciate little things?
 

The notion here is not that we shouldn't give if we have material abundance. And it is not true that God does appreciate little things only. The notion here is that what is little and what is much is not in terms of how much.

For you can't touch God's heart by how much you give because all is God's. But you can touch God's heart with a clean, pure and upright heart. So then, do not take pride in how much you possess. No not. Rather take pride in your heart.

Yet material abundance can be a blessing from God. For we know that many servants of God have been blessed materially. But what does rich mean? In material terms, it means having more than enough.

Yet in spiritual terms, he who literally seems to have abundance, has nothing over, and he who literally seems to have little, does have enough. And upon this, it does spiritually balance well (2Corinthians 8:9). So then, God's version of "abundance" and "little" is pretty different from the human understanding.

Yet the question is; who are you rich for or to?

It is beautiful to be rich, but our riches must be in honor of and to God. For it is the Lord God who grants power and wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18), (1Samuel 2:7), (1Chronicles 29:11-12), (2Chronicles 1:11-12), (Job 1:9-10), (Proverbs 8:17-18). Yet we do not give to God out of material abundance. We are to give to God out of a cheerful heart. We must embrace the spiritual principles of giving.

If therefore anybody is to be rich, he should be so in honor of the Lord. Our riches should readily be available to the service of God. On this account, it is okay to have material abundance, but our abundance should never have anything to do with our giving.

Rather our giving should be detached from having abundance. We should give because we love God, to whom the honor of our riches should be. The will in us therefore should always be there to give whether when we have or when we don't have. For we are to give all. God the Father gave all in His only begotten Son (John 3:16). He gave all He had.

When are we said to have given cheerfully?
  

Our giving is accepted of God if we do so out of a loving and willing heart. It is accepted to be cheerful when what matters is not how much we have given. For we must give from the heart. How much we give is not what counts, but how we give is what should be cheerful. 

We may therefore literally have given many times, yet only one of them you have been counted to have given more than anybody else.

In conclusive terms, it is not only about giving. The entire life of a Christian must honor God. Thus Jesus says when we do everything in the Christian heart, rather we should let our light shine and this will draw many more other people to Christ, and the honor is to the Father (Matthew 5:14-16).

 From what heart do we do whatever we do? For God judges the heart and the intention, not the action. If there is anything that God loves from us, it is our heart (Jeremiah 17:10), (Luke 16:15), (Psalms 44:2). Are we intending to build or to break? Are you intending to benefit yourself or to build the Kingdom of God?

Guard your heart, not your actions.