Devotion: Giving To, Giving For, Giving From (Mark 12:38-44)

Audio file of this devotion.

38 As He taught, Jesus said, "Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely." 41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-- all she had to live on." 

Mark 12:38-44 

The gifts that people placed into the temple treasury as Jesus watched were most likely the voluntary offerings that the Jews made for the poor, especially the widows and orphans. These gifts were given in obedience to God's Law. The practice of placing these gifts into a very public receptacle was an innovation of men that contributed to many of the Jews using these gifts as expressions of their own righteousness. What was intended to be the compassionate support of those in need was distorted into an act of public giving to win the approval of people. Some contributors even made a show of how large their gifts were.

Jesus sat across the way from the repository watching people bringing their gifts. He saw them putting their money into the temple treasury. He could see the large gifts of the wealthy people. We can imagine that He could see the hearts of all the contributors. But the Scripture has no record of Him making any comments about the gifts of those who brought them, expect for a widow who came along and gave a very small amount. After she dropped her two little copper coins into the treasury, Jesus called His disciples to Himself to point out that only this widow had given genuinely. He explained the difference between the widow and the others who brought their gifts. That difference becomes clear when we look past how much they had given to what they were giving to, giving for, and giving from.

As far as what the people were giving to, we can clearly see that the crowds were giving to a worthy cause. It's an honorable thing for people to give money to provide some relief for the less fortunate. With so many needs in our world, God could have told the Jews to give their charitable gifts to any number of causes. In the freedom that we have in Christ, we have many options when it comes to giving to something that is worthy of support. We might choose the humane society, the local hospice organization, a cancer research group, or a social ministry of a church. But God had commanded them to give to the care of widows and orphans, so that's what they gave to.

In giving to the thing that God had commanded, the Jews showed what they were giving for. For the most part, they were giving for compliance. They knew the demands of God's Law and they wanted to satisfy those demands in order to please (or appease) God. While this may have been the reason for most of the giving, surely there were many who were also giving their gifts for the relief of those who suffering. But there were also just as certainly people who were giving for recognition. Some wanted the recognition of God and some wanted the recognition of man, but they were giving for something in return. We understand this very well. Even when we give for a good cause, for the benefit of others, or for the relief of suffering, we often are looking for something in return and end up giving for a tax deduction, for a good feeling, or for the same recognition that motivated some of those whom Jesus observed at the temple treasury.

While the motives of those who were giving at the temple is a matter of speculation, what the people were giving from is quite clear from the text: they were giving from their excess.  Jesus said it clearly, "they all gave out of their wealth." They were rich in things and gave from their excess. They did not give from what they needed to keep body and soul together.  No matter how much they gave or how good the cause or even how pure their motives were, they held back so that their giving didn't impact their lives. Consequently, they gave  little. We know what it's like to give from our wealth. We constrain our giving to what we see as the excess in our lives. Given how much of what God has entrusted to us we spend on ourselves, we are convinced that there is not much excess. Like the wealthy contributors at the temple, we give little.

In contrast to all the others giving that day at the temple and in contrast to us, the widow commended by Jesus was not giving to something, but was giving to the God who supplies the needs of widows and orphans. As one who most likely received assistance from this very fund, this woman knew the realities of those who were in need. She did not trust in a worthy cause, but in a God worthy of our praise. She gave her small gift to a great God who could use it to do great good. In trusting God to supply for her needs and the needs of others, the widow was giving for God's glory. A gift of this nature (small, but everything) invited God to demonstrate His glory in her life. Lastly, she was giving from the trust that comes from faith. God had filled her heart with His love so that it overflowed in her giving. She was not rich in things, but she was rich in faith. Unlike the others and unlike us, she gave a lot.

What does your giving to, giving for, and giving from look like? Chances are you're much more like the people who gave from their wealth than the widow who gave from her heart. But forcing a change in what and how you give doesn't change your giving to, your giving for, or your giving from. This change comes only by the working of the One who sat across from the temple treasury knowing that He would soon give all that He had to the Father, for the forgiveness of your sins, from the love that moved Him to rescue you from eternal condemnation. His criticism of those who gave self-centeredly and His praise of the widow who gave selflessly are calls to turn to Him repenting of how you have given and seeking the Holy Spirit's aid in changing from the inside out. Once you are caught up in His grace and mercy you cannot help but give all you are and all you have to Him, for His glory, from a heart overflowing with the same gratitude and trust that enabled the widow to put all that she had in the hands of our generous God.