Influencers Weekly Devotional

The Widow's Penny

by

Rocky Fleming

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Mark 12:41-44 (ESV)

I have several friends regarded as wealthy by the world's standards, but much more so, they are wealthy by Heaven's standards. They are generous with their great resources, with their time and with their encouragement to all people. They never measure another man by his financial status, nor consider their wealth to be a determiner of their true value. They are as satisfied hanging out with a blue color laborer, as they are with a Fortune 500 CEO ... maybe more so. These men are wealthy in ways the world cannot understand, for they are royalty because they are joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and a member of the Royal Priesthood. If you haven't heard this term before, look it up in 1 Peter 2:9. It will help you understand my illustration. I also have several friends who are regarded as poor by the world's standard, but by Heaven's standard they are rich, for they are also of royalty. They are generous with their time and their limited resources. They envy no man because of his wealth, for they too do not value others or themselves based on net worth. In fact, they would rather live in their poverty than to become wealthy, if it means they would lose the joy that permeates their life. Their's is a richness the world cannot understand, and certainly does not give them. In common with the rich man and the poor man are the riches Christ has given to them that are not limited by being subject to theft, the reversal of the economy, or the fluctuations of the best investment strategy a money manager can design. They have the Treasure of the Universe, they put their trust in Heaven's Treasury, and nothing, I mean nothing can compare with it. How about you? If you say you are a disciple of Christ, does the way you use your wealth or poverty prove it? Where does your treasure really lie? Based on the example of the poor widow andthe way she used her poverty (or was it wealth), it is obvious that Jesus had an opinion about her, and it was good. What is His opinion of you, which is something we should seek His answer on? Then there is another set of acquaintances that are as greedy and self seeking as anyone out there. What is in common with these men is their love of money and their willingness to use and discard anyone to build and protect their fortune. They have an insatiable desire to accumulate as much wealth as possible, even though it is more than they could ever spend. It would be hard to separate the style of these men, for they are narcissistic, consumed by their “above others status,” and benevolent only if it is a good tax break, business deal, or puts their name on a building. They look and act like birds of the same feather. But what is different about them is that one man declares there is no God and lives his life for himself because of it. The other man declares there is a God and is a Christ follower, but he also lives life for himself and acts as if his relationship with Christ and the stewardship of God's resources entrusted to him are irrelevant. Of the two, it is this last guy that I pity more, for he is as impoverished as anyone can be and doesn't realize it. He is like a man swimming with a load of gold over deep water, and his gold will eventually drown him unless he releases it. Like I said, I pity this person, for he lives in spiritual poverty, and no matter how much wealth he accumulates, the path he travels will lead to great disappointment. Concerning this man and people like him, I get really upset when I see churches and other ministries courting these rich men like a beggar would, hoping he will throw some of his riches their way. They are less concerned with his heart condition, than his money. Wouldn't Jesus rather we were more interested in the man's soul than his pocketbook? If we were, he might get a clear message that we place no greater value on him than we do the poor woman who can give only a penny. Both the rich man and the Church need to reevaluate our perspective toward wealth, and take a lesson from Christ and the widow. The truth is, I think God's family needs to look at Christ's view of the use of wealth, rather than allow Madison Avenue or wealthy celebrities to dictate our perspective. When I recall the different stories and try to think of the person that stands out the most to me as faithful with their fortune, it would be the widow who had only a penny to give, but gave it. Yes, I did say “fortune” even though it was only a penny, for this penny represented a fortune to her. But, what else did that penny represent, and what can we learn from the widow? Consider: The Widow's Penny represents a true sacrificial gift. Note Jesus informed His disciples that what she put in the offering box was everything she had, even all she had to live on. The Widow's Penny represents absolute trust in God. When she gave her last penny, she also gave her last vestige of hope in the world's resources, so that she could receive God's provisions in return. The Widow's Penny represents God's trust in her. This woman was regarded as a hero of the faith and Jesus pointed out that her gift was truly greater than the people who were making noise with their gold when they gave. God puts great value in our faith, and our faithfulness is most pleasing to Him. The Widow's Penny represents a gift from the heart, which God places greater value on than an obligatory gift or gift for recognition. Note that her gift was obscure and hidden as she gave it. It was overlooked and discounted by everyone but Jesus. This is the way a heart gift looks, for it was between her and God. The Widow's Penny represents the way God wants us to give … cheerfully, quietly, sacrificially and generously from the heart. That penny was precious to God, and as a result, it was of great value to Him. As I process the story and hidden meanings of the Widow's Penny, I cannot help but see that most Christians in America have a struggle with understanding the true blessing it is for us to give to God's work, and whatever is given with a right heart is valued by Him. However, we have been so conditioned by a value system that exalts wealth over character, splash more than substance, and quantity more than quality. Most unfortunate is that we have allowed these values to permeate our thinking in the Church. Because of a materialistic society and celebrity worship that saturates our nation, I see some ministries buying into a hidden message that tells them that it is only the great gift and the “significant” person that they must seek out to support their ministry endeavors. Because of the culture we live in, it is easy to think that the more money one has, means greater generosity, which just isn't so. By pursuing the wealthy man, we could endorse a celebrity Christian mentality, and believe me, wealthy Christians do not need this temptation. I believe there are two great financial burdens to carry. One is to be poor. The other is to be wealthy. One burden often drives us to our knees and to God, where we find true Treasure. The other often anesthetizes us with pleasures, and leads us away from God, where we find spiritual bankruptcy. It would be better to be poor and find God at that place than to be wealthy and be far from Him. Therefore ministries should not tempt a wealthy Christian with more ego scratching than he already has. He has enough. Do him a favor. Value him for his character and heart, not because of his pocketbook. Stay away from giving him special favor, as James said in his epistle. Speak truth to him and minister to him, even if it closes his pocketbook to you. His soul is more important to God than his money. We all need to remember this. As a non-profit ministry that depends on donations, we should always ask ourselves if the Poor Widow of Jesus' day gave her scant offering to us, would it be appreciated for what it is, rather than what it isn't? Sure, it will be a gift that makes an insignificant dent in our ministry's budget needs. That's a given. It will not do much with funding our latest project, or with keeping our doors open. But what it is, is a gift given from the heart of a godly person. It is a gift given with great sacrifice. It is a gift from a person who in making this gift is saying in essence, “I believe in what you are doing and I want to support it the best I can.” It is a gift that brings great joy to Jesus, and one that He sees as significant. Is there any gift greater than to know God is delighted in the widow's penny, and He thinks enough of any ministry that He would inspire her to give this gift? Whether it is a rich man or poor man, and all points in between, let's not buy the lie that it is about the need to raise money from people to build a ministry. It is about raising disciples of Christ that builds a ministry. Let's make it our purpose to disciple both the rich, the poor and all people God puts before us, and God will be pleased to take care of the support that our ministry requires, for He delights in how and why we serve Him. This is how a ministry puts its penny in the collection box, and we know what Jesus's attitude is about this penny. It delights Him. Download file