Sacrificial Obedience

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who where rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."
Mark 12:41-44

Who gave more? The rich men out of their abundance or the widow out of all that she had? Monetarily, the rich men obviously gave more. Perhaps they gave the equivalent of $10,000? That certainly seems like a lot of money to most people and I'm sure most churches would be thrilled to receive such an offering--think of the good works they could accomplish with such money. However, if the Lord had blessed the rich man with a million dollars, and they tithed only one percent of that amount, they are hardly being obedient to the Word.

If I were a betting man I'd give odds that the rich men probably made a big deal of their giving as well, saying, "Look at how generous I am to give to the church ALL of this money!" And, the church probably made a big deal out of his giving too. I wonder if he had a pew named after him?

On the other hand, the widow who lives on a fixed income, who just after receiving her social security check, gives all that she has. She spiritually gives more. It says that she gave her whole livelihood. All that she had to live on she gave, quietly and humbly, trusting in the Lord that He would provide for her needs.

Now I have to ask, assuming they both go to heaven, which one is the Lord going to be more pleased with? The men who gave money that they'll never even miss or the widow who went hungry so that she could bless others? Which one is going to receive the greater reward in heaven?

The Lord has blessed us abundantly here in America. Just to have food, shelter, and clothing puts us far ahead of many of the rest of the world. And, if we have a car to drive, separate bedrooms to sleep in, multiple changes of clothes, we are rich in worldly standards. Yet how many of us would forego a Caribbean vacation so that we could contribute to feeding a starving child? How many of us would give up our second car so that we could help clothe and minister to the homeless? How many of us would do without our 10th pair of shoes so that a kid didn't have to go barefoot?

I find it appropriate that Jesus came to secretly witness this generous giving and to use it as an example to his disciples. He witnesses our giving each and every day, never saying anything, just silently watching us give out of our abundance or out of sacrifice. He sees if we are giving out of what is left, or giving what is right.