Imagine, you're a financial counselor. Today you have two appointments, first with an elderly woman and then a middle-aged man.
The women's husband died six years ago. She says "I have no more money. The cupboards are bare. These two dollars are all I have to live on, yet I feel as if God wants me to put them in the offering. What do you think?"
What would you tell her?
Likely you'd say, "That's very generous of you, but God gave you common sense. He knows your heart - that you want to give. But he intends you to take care of yourself. I'm sure God would have you keep those two dollars and buy food for tomorrow. You can't expect him just to send down food from heaven, can you? God wants us to be sensible."
Your next appointment is with a successful, hard working, middle-aged farmer whose crop production has been excellent. He tells you, "I'm planning to tear down my old barns to build bigger ones so that I can store up more crops and goods and have plenty saved up for the future. Then I can take it easy, retire early, and do some traveling and golfing. What do you think?"
How would you answer?
Perhaps like this: "Sounds good to me! You've worked hard. God has blessed you with good crops. It's your business, your crops, your money. If you can save up enough to take care of yourself the rest of your life, by all means go for it. I hope one day I'll be in a position to do the same!"
Wouldn't such advice to this poor widow and rich man appear reasonable? What would God have to say about it?
We needn't speculate - Scripture tell us exactly what he says.
In Mark, Chapter 12, we meet a poor widow. She put two tiny copper coins in the temple offering box. This was the only money she had. Jesus pointed her out to his disciples to teach them a lesson. Did he question the women's wisdom? Did he say she should have been more sensible than to surrender her only remaining resources? No. He gave her unqualified commendation: "I tell you the truth, 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" (Mark, Chapter 12 Verses 43 and 44).
Jesus regarded the women as wise, not foolish. He set her up as a model for his disciples to follow. He enshrined her example in the Word of God so that future generations might emulate her faith and sacrificial generosity.
And yet, if she'd have come to us for advice, we would have tried to talk her out of the very thing Jesus commended her for!
In Luke, Chapter 12, we meet a rich man. We're not told that he gained his wealth dishonestly or that he didn't attend synagogue, tithe, or pray as most Jews did. He worked diligently to build his business. Now, like any good businessman, he wanted to expand by building bigger barns. His purpose was to accumulate enough to retire early and have a good time. Sounds like the American dream, doesn't it? (And, honestly, are our dreams as Christians so different?)
So what did God have to say to this man? "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?"
Jesus added, "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God" (Luke, Chapter 12 Verses 20 and 21).
By our standards, the widow's actions seem unwise and the rich man's seem wish. But God, who knows the hearts of both and sees from the vantage point of eternity, regards the poor women as eternally wise and the rich man as eternally foolish.
This proves that our beliefs about money are radically different from God's. In fact, they're diametrically opposed.
We must ask some probing questions. Who is featured more frequently in Christian magazines and on talk shows - poor widows or rich fools? Who receives the most respect and attention in many Christian organizations? Who is more highly esteemed in most churches? Who typically serves on our boards and determines the direction of our ministries?
Let's be honest - don't we have a scarcity of poor widows and a surplus of rich fools? And doesn't our way of operating encourage people to think and act like a rich fool, and discourage them from thinking and acting like the poor widow?
