The poor widow's mite
Luke 21
But when he looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts in the treasury. 2 And he also saw a widow who depended on her earnings and put two mites there; 3 and he said, Truly I say unto you, this poor widow has put in more than all. 4 For all these out of their abundance contributed to the gifts; but out of her poverty she put in everything she had to support herself.
Acts 20:35 I have shown you in every way that it is necessary to work in this way and to care for the weak, remembering the word of the Lord Jesus, who himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive.
2Cor 9,7 Let each one do what he has determined in his heart, not with reluctance or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.
In times like these, when the world is shattered by war and people are fleeing, the tide of solidarity is always the highest. But do these catastrophes always have to happen before we remember that we humans all belong to the same race?
In memory of:
There are 2,000,000,000 Christians in the world and 1,000,000,000 people who are constantly suffering from hunger and fighting for their lives. And we still have people dying of hunger.
I don't want to overwhelm you with numbers and certainly don't want to make anyone feel guilty, but to bring you closer to the secret of giving.
When I came to faith 25 years ago, I belonged to the so-called socially disadvantaged group. I rarely had a steady job and was constantly spending more money than I actually had. So it is not surprising that I was in debt in the middle 5-digit range. It would never have occurred to me at the time to give something away, to give something away to someone from the little I had.
But meeting God changed everything. I don't want to talk here and now about the problems and difficulties that the transformation, the change, has brought with it to become a Christian. Rather, I want to focus on the aspect of giving, caring and empathizing with the needs of others.
Being touched by God is always something special, and it always initiates change. It starts on the inside and of course also has an impact on the outside.
My spiritual mother, a young (then 24 year old, new believer) woman was on fire for Jesus. And she LIVED her faith. And generosity was a gift she really had. Generosity, even though she had only a small income herself. Not only was she generous financially, it was her lifestyle.
So I came to faith, and one of the many conversations we had was about giving. While I was arguing that I didn't have enough and that 1 or 2 € (DM) would not help anyone, she told me I could pray that God would send someone to help me with what I was able to give can. And at some point I started to say this prayer. At the time, if I'm completely honest, I had my doubts.
But God is great, and the first to come to me was one of those people who approach others for a little change to buy the next bottle of alcohol. And of course I said NO. Another time an acquaintance asked me if I could help him in the garden and again there was a NO.
But when we ask God for something, HE does something. Sometimes just different than we imagine. When I was asked for help again, I suddenly had no excuse and said YES.
Help with moving house. And I really didn't like carrying heavy furniture around. But the feeling at work of doing something for someone else without thinking about your own benefit has set something in motion. And more and more often I said YES when I was asked for help. I even started offering my help unasked.
And over the years, generosity has become my way of life, too. And God blessed it. I got a permanent job, was able to pay off my debts, got married and make a good living.
And I'm still open to supporting others. I give my compassion, my time, my manpower, my advice, my sympathy, and yes, finances when needed.
But when it comes to finances, many Christians are a bit strange. I have often heard that what we have actually belongs to God and that we are allowed to administer it. And that we therefore have to deal with it responsibly.
But hey, God knows our hearts and HE knows exactly how selfish we are. And yet he gives us everything he has. And he gives generously, in abundance. Even though we didn't deserve it. Is he doing this because he's irresponsible? He gives us gifts and we don't deserve it.
And so I pass it on, with this attitude of heart. And HE, who sees our hearts, blesses this attitude. And whatever we are willing to give away, we get it back from Him.
I don't want to bury the talents I've received in the field for fear of losing them.
Of course, it has happened to me many times that this attitude has been exploited, both materially and immaterially. And although such experiences hurt, I have always decided not to become bitter.
A first step towards a giving heart is time. We all always have a little free time to give, and I'm sure almost everyone around us knows someone who is lonely. Give that person a little bit of your time, a kind word, a little interest, a listening ear, a prayer. And see what God is doing with you and with your counterpart.
You will experience how you change from giver to recipient.
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