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by Kevin Pauley
Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. Summoning His disciples, He said to them, "I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed--all she had to live on." - Mark 12:41-44 HCSB
How would you like it if your pastor, at offering time, stood by the offering plate and carefully examined how much each person was giving? Suppose he took each check—opened it up—looked at it and passed a judgment about the gift right there in public? That’s pretty close to what the Master did.
God measures our giving not so much by what we give as by what we keep and why. Here was a person who didn’t have much to give but gave it all anyway and Yeshua commended her—not for her poverty, but for her willingness to give sacrificially.
It’s amazing how often the Lord addressed the issue of money. According to Yeshua, our attitude toward money has great spiritual significance. It was He who said, “You can not serve God and Money.”[1] He gave 38 parables and 16 dealt with money. There is more discussion in the New Covenant about money than heaven and hell combined. You’ll find 5 times more discussion on money than prayer. There are a little over 500 verses on prayer and faith and over 2000 verses on money or possessions.
That’s because money is where the “rubber meets the road” in our daily lives. The way we handle our money is a good indicator of where heart really is. “…Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”[2]
The greatest battle any of us face is the battle with own selfishness. On the one hand, we do love God and want to serve Him. On other hand, it just seems we don’t quite ever have enough for ourselves. The things we would like to do or own cost money so the stewardship of finances can be a real struggle at times.
Now, a generous spirit will not only manifest itself in finances but in every aspect of our lives. It will manifest in the way we use and invest our time. It will manifest in our demands toward other people, in our service toward other people. However, none of those show our hearts like the way we obtain or use our money!
Even the worldly know that “talk is cheap.” Their motto is “Put your money where your mouth is” and in a way, the Master agreed. Anybody can say, “I love God and I love my fellow man” but how we use our money is the litmus test. Do our checkbooks agree with us? Do our day planners and PDAs agree that “we love God and our fellow man”?
Kevin Pauley is a pastor and writer. He lives in Illinois with his wife, Lynn, their five children and two dogs. His internet address is Berea.
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