Sunday Devotional - The Widow’s MITE or MIGHT?
Pastor Wes
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Greetings church! This week our Leadership team finalized our church re-opening strategy, we’ve decided to err on the side of caution and to continue to follow state recommendations that currently limit indoor gatherings to 10 people. While we do have space inside to spread out, the difficulty comes in meeting with kids present who would have a harder time socially distancing. So, we’re going to give a little more time to make sure we’re in the clear concerning the virus. But in the meantime, we’re attempting to get each of our connect groups together for their own time of socially distanced connecting. And we want to make sure that even if you haven’t been a regular part of a connect group, that you are more than welcomed to join in for this one step closer towards reconnecting as a church body. More details to follow on that coming soon. Then on June 28 we are planning on the whole church meeting together outside, in the open air, at Steve and Kim Rogers’ barn. I’ll have more details for you on that too as we get closer to that date, again June 28. Our hope is that phase 3 for North Carolina will begin that following week, and from June 28 onward we can resume meeting inside together safely. Thank you for your patience, thank you for continuing to seek the Lord and function as the body of Christ during this time.
For the past few weeks we’ve been in the book of Matthew, and in between Matthew chapter 23 and 24 there is an observation that Jesus makes and points out to His disciples, an observation I believe we have often misinterpreted. The event is recorded in the books of Luke and Mark- grab your Bible and let’s look at it together in Mark, Mark chapter 12:41-44.
To many, this might be a familiar passage, one that is often termed as the “Widow’s Offering,” or the “Widow’s Mite.” A mite was a small, Jewish copper coin, 2 of them equaled the smallest Roman coin- they were basically pennies. And often the interpretation of this passage is that: God doesn’t look at the gift as much as He does the heart, and that smaller gifts can carry greater weight in God’s eyes, according to the proportion of sacrifice. While this is all true, and one could deduce from this event that truth, I don’t think this was the reason Jesus drew attention to this observation of the widow’s gift. You could point out as well that this is another example of Jesus having perfect knowledge of things hidden- He knew this was all the woman had left to live on, and He knew the proportions of how everyone was giving. But again, I don’t think this is the main thrust of the passage. I don’t think Jesus said to Himself “Here’s an opportunity to show everyone that I know how much you make and how much you give.” Most often, this passage is interpreted as: Jesus is intending to point out how generous this widow was, how much faith and reliance on the Lord she had, and that we are to give likewise. The widow is praised for her might, in giving the mite. Now, generosity is commanded to us by Jesus and scripture, as is faith and reliance on the Lord, but I would like to present that this passage is not an example of generosity and faith, nor is it suggesting that we give as the widow gave.
Maybe you’re thinking, you’ve heard this passage before as an attempt to guilt people into giving more money to the church- again, I don’t think this passage has anything to do with that type of application. Let me tell you why. First, there’s no “Go and do likewise” command from Jesus. He just states the facts as they are. There are no verbs here that indicate the widow’s temperament. It doesn’t say she “cheerfully” or “joyfully” gave, nor does it say because of “her faith” or because she “knew it was what God requested” that she gave in this way. Think about it for just a moment, does it make much sense that Jesus would be hinting that we as Christians should get down to our last paycheck, and then take that paycheck and give it to the church? Is Jesus saying that the only offering that is worth anything to Him is the one that sends you to the poor house? Are we supposed to recklessly give and donate to the point in which we can’t provide for ourselves or our families?
I don’t think so. The key to unlocking this passage, is the same key we use to unlock other passages of scripture, and that key is observing the passage in its context. What are some contextual clues that happened immediately before and immediately after this event? Chronologically, we were just in Matthew 23, and the major context clue that jumps out from that chapter is verse 14 when Jesus says that the religious leaders “devour widows’ houses…” Mark and Luke make it really easy on us, they don’t include all the reprimands to the religious that Matthew 23 outlines, but they mention just a few in the couple verses before the passage about the widow’s offering. The reprimand immediately before the story of the widow, Mark 12:40 is: yep, you guessed it… Jesus reprimands the religious “who devour widows’ houses.” (Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47)
The immediate context afterwards- again present in Matthew, Mark, and Luke- is the disciples begin admiring the beautiful temple buildings. And Jesus basically responds, “Yeah, all that external beauty you see is going to be torn down.” To me, the progression looks like Jesus is calling out the religious institution for doing wrongful things, Jesus then observes and points out a direct example of them doing a wrongful thing, and then He declares that this is the last straw- judgement is coming and the religious institution of the temple is going to be destroyed. Jesus is angry at the religious leaders. I think He’s saying here, “you devour the widow’s homes- you are pressuring even those who have nothing- to give financially, to the excessive degree that they lose their homes- giving all they have and leaving them with nothing left to even buy food for the day. And this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, I will tolerate it no more, the injustice, the promoting of yourselves by trampling others is in direct opposition to my gospel message, and I am going to do away with your fancy buildings built through extortion.”
The point of the passage is not to give until you are financially distressed, the point of the passage is that there shouldn’t be an abuse of power taking place that causes people to become financially distressed. What does this mean for us today? I immediately think of television evangelists who cunningly twist God’s word in order to persuade people to give money to their organization. I think of those who have grown excessively rich profiteering off of the gospel, who grow wealthy by “selling” salvation or the hope of being blessed. My friends, this is wrong, this is not true Christianity, this type of behavior made (and still makes) Jesus angry. Please be careful and do your homework before blindly supporting any “Christian” or “Charitable” organizations.
Secondly, hopefully this passage brings a little relief, knowing that God isn’t anxious to collect all your money and send you to the poor house. Now, that’s not to say that He might not go to that extreme if money has so tight a grip on you that it is hindering you in your relationship with Him. He loves people so much, that He has been known to go to great extremes to strip things away that have taken His place in people’s lives. But with that being said, please don’t see this passage of scripture any longer as an example of how God wants us to give. Bringing your last paycheck to the church and then losing your house and starving to death is probably not the best way to bring glory to His name. I pray rather that money has no grip on your heart, that God blesses you with much of it, that you have everything you need and more, and have opportunity to bless others- offering to God tithes/offerings/gifts that support His work, the building up of His church, and His ministering to others in need.
I love you church! I hope to see you soon at a Connect group gathering and at the Roger’s house on the 28th!