Mark 12:41-44 NIV

“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. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

How often this story shakes and challenges us when we come face to face with the sacrifice of an unknown, unnamed, poverty-stricken Jewish widow, a daughter of Abraham! Why did Mark record this incident?  

What was Jesus thinking when He sat and watched the worshippers coming and going around the temple precincts? Why the temple treasury? What did that tell Him about the inner workings of people’s hearts?

One thing is sure…Jesus always matched what people did on the outside with what went on in the inside. He wasn’t impressed by what people did without discerning motives and attitudes. 

Let’s examine this story against the backdrop of Jesus’ teaching. Since money plays such a pivotal role in human life, Jesus would have had much to say about the way we use and abuse it. How did this woman and the other worshippers measure up? 

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus didn’t say, “Don’t give your money in public.” This wasn’t possible because the temple treasury was in a public space. He  did say, “Don’t make a show of your giving.” How could the people do that? 

To prevent theft, the receptacles, apparently, were shaped like trumpets and made a ringing sound when coins were thrown in with force. To be noticed, the giver would make a show of his gift by tossing it in hard enough to be heard. 

Guess who made use of this phenomenon? Of course, the Pharisees! They were the ones Jesus dubbed as “hypocrites”. The widow, by contrast, dropped her two coins in quietly. They were so small that they hardly made a sound. 

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What happens when people use their money to serve others? Gain, not loss… more, not less. An amazing thing happens when we give… a record is keep in heaven, a deposit against which we can draw in times of need. What we hoard for ourselves is diminished. What we share with others becomes a heavenly investment.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV

Jesus used well-known imagery to dig into hearts and attitudes. Just as healthy eyes let light into the body, so a healthy attitude to money reveals an attitude of generosity towards others, lighting up the soul to see beyond the end of its own nose.

The opposite is also true. Just as blindness shuts out the light, so selfishness and greed shut out hearts to the needs of others. Selfishness is essentially darkness…the realm from which God is absent.

Now, here is the crux of the matter. 

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s not about what we own. It’s about who or what owns us! Money is a good servant but a terrible master. What we do with our money depends on who we serve, who we honour. 

When Jesus watched the widow drop in her two measly coins, He also saw what was left in her pocket…nothing! This does not mean that He requires that we give away all our money. He did , of the rich young ruler because money, not Jesus, was his master. What He saw in the widow was someone who was prepared to trust God for her livelihood when she had done what was required of her. 

All the other givers who threw in many coins, according to Jesus, had plenty left over for themselves. Nothing wrong with that but…how did they view their giving? Self-satisfied because of the amount they had given or at peace, like the widow, because she had obeyed her Lord?

I know I’m reading into this story what is not written but, judging by Jesus’ response to what He had seen, we can assume that she was at peace because money was not her master but her servant. 

Jesus is not concerned about whether we are rich or poor, how much we have or don’t have. When He is entrenched in our hearts as Lord, He is in charge of our material and physical well-being. What little we have will always be enough when we use it as currency to keep the flow going by giving and receiving, because that’s the way God’s kingdom works. 

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬