April 6 | Poor
Read Mark 12:38-44
“It’s all I have.” At the church I used to work at, we used to give Starbucks gift cards to guests as part of a welcome gift. I will never forget an anonymous letter I received in the mail, saying how much they appreciated the gift, and that they didn’t have anything else to give, so they were sending back the Starbucks card for someone else.
What a picture of generosity. The stories we read today about the scribes and the widow talk about how Jesus sees our hearts around giving.
The scribes he was talking about used their position in the temple to get rich off the people, manipulating money even from widows.
The poor widow on the other hand, gave out of her poverty- not clinging to even the little she had. Jesus says she gave much more than anyone else because she gave all she had.
These two stories remind us that what matters to Jesus isn’t the amount of time or money we give to the Church or elsewhere- but what our heart looks like when we do. Do we give only what won’t hurt us to lose, so that others will be impressed? Or like the widow, are we willing to give everything we can?
Today, let’s examine our hearts toward giving. Do we give out of love for God or for the admiration of others?