More Than Money

Feature 3 – July/August 2015 – Grace & Truth Magazine

More Than Money

In His last week before going to the cross, the Lord Jesus spent some time in the temple at Jerusalem. One day, near the treasury, He watched as the rich cast in their gifts. Some observers would have been impressed by the amounts being offered, but the Lord had other thoughts. A poor widow caught His attention that day. Without any showy display, she quietly slipped “two mites” into the treasury and went on her way. The Lord Jesus used the incident to teach His listeners an important lesson. In reality the poor widow had given more than all the lavish gifts of the rich. They had given out of their abundance; she, in her poverty, had “cast in all the living that she had” (Lk. 21:1-4 KJV ).

That lesson is still a vital one. Giving is not to be thought of merely in terms of the amount offered. It is more important to consider how much is left behind afterwards. It may not really cost a rich person anything to part with a large gift, but this poor widow gave “all ... that she had.” As she entered the temple courts she had two small coins in her hand – and no savings at home. She had a choice as she approached the treasury. Small though the coins were, she could have decided to give just one of them. That would have been a generous act indeed for it would have represented giving 50% of her possessions. The widow chose otherwise. She parted with both of the coins – 100% of her possessions.

What Lay Behind The Act?
What prompted her to be so generous? Surely it was her love for God! While the scribes sought the praise and commendation of men, she wanted no attention for herself (Lk. 20:46-47). She had the simple desire to give what she could to her God. When she entered the temple that day she had no idea that her simple act of devotion was being watched, or that because she gave “all ... that she had” it would be remembered forever.

It might be helpful to connect this woman’s act of giving with another incident. In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 there is a kind of “guide for giving” that provides us with an important insight. Before encouraging his readers at Corinth to support the work of God in practical ways, Paul gave them an example very similar in character to the one above. Like the widow in the temple, the churches of Macedonia were marked by “deep poverty,” and yet they were outstandingly generous. Touched by the love of God, they held nothing back. They had given “beyond” their means – and it almost seems that someone had suggested that they were going too far because Paul reveals how they had insisted that their gift should be accepted. Their giving was done thoughtfully and willingly, but the thing that most impressed Paul was that they “first gave their own selves to the Lord” (2 Cor. 8:1-5).

The order of events here is significant. Before the giving of possessions, the Lord seeks the surrender of our person. The believers in Macedonia had done this very thing because they knew that they belonged to the Lord. The same realization must dawn upon us. Because the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for us and purchased us with His precious blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19) we now belong to Him. It is only right therefore that we should surrender our bodies to Him, presenting them as “a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1) to be used for His glory. Before parting with our money, it is vital that we grasp this responsibility. We must yield ourselves to Him and place our lives entirely in His hand.

Not Ours Anyway!
Many years before, David was planning a great project. He had wanted to build a temple in Jerusalem for the glory of God but had been denied. The responsibility for that task was to be given to his son Solomon instead. However, David knew that he had the resources available to assist in the work. In 1 Chronicles 29 there is a list of all that David had given “for the service of the house of God” (v.7). People might have been impressed by the amount that he had contributed, but David was not proud. Rather, the question, “Who am I?” reveals his humility. There was nothing great about David’s giving for God had supplied everything in the first place! “All things come of Thee,” David declared, “and of Thine own have we given Thee” (v.14).

Today, as believers, we need to appreciate this fact too. Not only do we belong to the Lord because He purchased us, but all that we possess is really His as well. He is the One who gives us all things richly to enjoy (1 Tim. 6:17). Giving to Him is actually no great deal because all that we have is His already!

In Old Testament times the people of Israel were responsible to give to the Lord a tenth of everything. If they wanted to go beyond the legal requirement and bring a freewill offering as an act of worship, they were at liberty to do so. Some today will argue that we are “not under Law” and therefore are not obliged to offer a tenth of our income to God. This reasoning misses the point. We have just seen that everything we possess belongs to Him. We should seek to give Him as much as we can. It goes without saying that some will be able to give more than others. It is not our responsibility to pass judgment on the generosity, or seeming lack thereof, of fellow-believers. Rather, as individual stewards of what God has entrusted to our care, we should seek to be “faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2). Instead of asking how much we should give to the Lord, perhaps we should ask how much we ought to keep back for ourselves. If under the Law a tenth was given to the Lord, should we give Him less?

Having The Right Perspective
The missionary C.T. Studd, who was born in 1860 and died in 1931, had the right perspective. Forsaking a promising career in sports to yield his life to the Lord, C.T. Studd decided to give his entire fortune to Christ. Knowing what he had done, and sharing his commitment, his bride-to-be told him that the considerable amount of money he had set aside for her should be given to Christian missions as well. The words of C.T. Studd have become famous and have often been quoted in the context of missionary service. He said: “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” It was this conviction that caused him to spend his life in the service of Christ in Africa.

God wants more than my money – He wants me! My spirit, soul and body are His (1 Th. 5:23). Like the Macedonians, we must first give ourselves to the Lord (2 Cor. 8:5). Do we really appreciate the value of God’s “Gift” (2 Cor. 9:15) and the fact that the Lord Jesus “gave Himself” (Gal. 2:20) for us at Calvary? Once we have surrendered our lives and our time to Him, the natural consequence will be to lay our possessions at His feet in the spirit of the poor widow who gave all that she had.

By Martin Girard