When Small Gifts Become Great Treasures

“Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others”.
Luke 21:3

How is it possible to add together the offerings of countless rich men and declare the total less than the two small copper coins of a poor widow? How is it possible for so little to amount to so much?

Jesus’ arithmetic is not hard to comprehend when you understand, as he did, that the secret of giving is not in the amount that is given, but rather what is given up.

Attitude—not abundance—is the key. Bishop Ambrose discusses the kind of giving that really adds up.

WALK WITH BISHOP AMBROSE
“Liberality is determined not by the amount of our possessions but by the disposition of our giving.

“For by the voice of the Lord, a widow is preferred above all, of whom it was said: ‘This poor widow has put in more than all the others.’

“The Lord teaches that none should be held back from giving through shame of their own poverty, nor should the rich flatter themselves that they seem to give more than the poor.

“The piece of money out of a small stock is richer than treasures out of abundance, because it is not the amount that is given but the amount that remains which is considered.

“No one gives more than she who has nothing left for herself.”

WALK CLOSER TO GOD
Giving is not a function of cold numbers, but the result of a warm heart.

A small gift humbly given is of greater value than a vast sum given out of pride, compulsion or guilt.

The amount of your gifts may vary with your resources. But the attitude of your gift should remain constant—and commendable—even if you are a poor widow on a two-coin pension.

Peter Marshall said it well: “Help us to give according to our incomes, lest thou, O God, make our incomes according to our gifts.”