Growing in Generosity: The Measure of Generosity


In the popular Netflix series "Stranger Things," there's an alternate dimension called "The Upside Down."  As I read the gospels, I think sometimes Jesus' disciples thought they were living in "The Upside Down"!  That's because Jesus looked at things from God's perspective, which was often radically different from the way we look at them.

One of those times must of been when they were sitting in the temple courts not long before Jesus was crucified.  Mark 12:41-44 describes it.  They were in the area where people gave monetary offerings.  The disciples were impressed by the rich folks who walked by and tossed in their offerings.  They appeared to be giving generous, sacrificial gifts.

But Jesus redirected their attention to a poor widow.  She went to the jar and put in two small copper coins.  They contained less copper than our pennies.  From a monetary perspective, they were practically worthless.

Jesus drew his disciples aside and stunned them by saying that the poor widow gave more than all the rich people put together!  The rich had given out of their excess.  But the poor widow had given all she had to live on.

Jesus taught his followers that God determines the value of a gift not by the amount of it, but by the sacrifice represented in it.  That's upside down from the way we look at things.

Studies today show that in America, the more people earn, the lower their percentage of charitable giving.  We would expect the opposite.  Upside down again!

The story of the widow calls us all to consider the sacrifice of our giving.  As we do so, it's good for us to reflect on the concept of the tithe. To give a tithe is to give 10% of our income to the work of God's kingdom through the church.  The idea of the tithe is great because it calls for a proportional sacrifice, not a set amount of money.

The poor widow gave sacrificially out of her love for God.  Jesus calls us to do the same!

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