He said, "I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."
Do we actually admire this widow who offered her whole livelihood? Or are we instead ready to see her as reckless, foolish, and imprudent, to make a donation, which compared to that of others, was negligible? No wonder some scholars try to explain this differently, as a condemnation of an exploitative system. Yet that explanation does not seem justified by the text, in which Jesus himself praised the offering of the poor widow. We ourselves are reluctant to give her the same credit because it seems to imply that we should also give away everything we possess in the way that she did. What then of our obligations to our families and to society? We begin by acknowledging that we are not in the same position as the widow. We have not only been entrusted with more wealth, but probably also more possibilities for putting that wealth to good use. The widow no doubt could have chosen to rely on those coins for a little longer, perhaps another few days. But it is not probable that they could have been essential in anything that would gain her long-term social or financial stability. It was clear that what she possessed was insufficient. So her decision to place her trust entirely in God was easily justified. Yet it was not a trivial choice. Many people in her position would have chosen to cling to whatever money they had, as though to life itself. It was clear that, although what she had done was objectively small, she had nevertheless done it with great love. She had been faithful in small matters and would be entrusted, by God if not by men, with much more.
Is this widow entirely unrelated to us and our quite different situations and circumstances? Or can she be an example for us after all? She can, because we too are called to entrust all that we have and all that we are to the Lord, if not typically in exactly the same way. We are wealthy people who are typically content to give to the Lord from our abundance. But we are seldom willing to give him anything, whether our time, talent, or treasure, in a way that requires us to trust in him. We will use our talents for the kingdom when we are confident of a good result. We will use or time for God as long as it is relatively convenient and comfortable. Seldom or never do we choose to rely in him in such a way that if he were not there we would fall flat on our faces. We justify this by saying that our two coins are not enough to make a real difference or have a lasting impact. But clearly, even if it doesn't change the world, the way we do or do not give ourselves to the Lord can change us in major ways. Doing little things with great love seems like a wonderful sentiment and a nice platitude. But when actually attempt it it turns out to be not so trivial after all. The little things we give might seem to us in that moment to be all that we have left. The question which we must then answer is whether they will be better in our hands or, as the widow decided, in the hands of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment