Luke 21- The Widow's Offering

Usually when I write, I like to bring everything to a conclusion, to state what I think and why. Today I'm not going to do that. In fact, the passage I'm going to write about today is one that I struggle with the most. And honestly, it's part of the reason I've delayed finishing up these posts on Luke; I've been avoiding this passage because I don't know how to write about it. So this post is unique; I have no idea what I'm going to say. I'm just going to write my thoughts as they come to me, and see where we end up.

The passage comes at the beginning of Luke 21, and here is what it says:

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

Just two sentences from Jesus, but I struggle mightily with this in several different ways.

First, I have a hard time understanding what Jesus is actually saying. Is he implying that it is better for a person to put in all they have to live on than to put in only a portion? Is he saying that it means more to God? Is he saying the person who does it is more righteous or spiritual or blessed? Or is he simply making an observation- that although her coins don't look like they amount to much, they are everything she has- and that although the rich people's offerings look like a lot, they are but a portion of what they have?

Looking back, it seems that a lot of times I've heard this passage presented in such a way that leads one to believe Jesus is not simply making an observation, but that he is also deeming the widow and her offering as the better way, the way we should be doing things. But as I read through his words again, I realize he never makes a judgment call. He never says she or her offering are better or more righteous or more pleasing to God, and he never says that the rich people's offerings are not good enough or less pleasing to God.

I also struggle with guilt. The more I think about it, the more I think that I feel guilty because of some of the sermons I've heard in the past and some of the things I've read into this passage that aren't even there. So many times I've walked away from this passage feeling beat up. Why? Because when we have money left after paying our bills and getting food for our family, we absolutely give what we can to our church and to people in our lives who need extra money. I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise. But during the times where we only have enough to live on ourselves, paying our bills and feeding our family come first.

Then I read that passage and feel so discouraged, like I've messed it all up. After all, we aren't doing what the widow did. We aren't putting in everything we have to live on. In fact, it seems to me like that would be a risk that perhaps God doesn't actually want us to take; it seems like saying, "Well, God, this is everything we have, our bills aren't paid and we don't have food, but I'm giving this money. You're gonna have to come through for me!" And that, to me, sounds like telling God what to do and not being smart with our very limited finances. What if God is sitting there going, "But don't you see that I AM coming through for you? I've provided this job, and you do have enough money to get the things your family absolutely needs- so use it for that!"

Maybe I need to look at this passage differently. Maybe I need to purge from my mind all the judgment calls that Jesus never actually stated, and go back to his actual words. Read his words again. Maybe he's not actually saying that giving out of your abundance is less righteous than giving everything you have. Maybe the point he's trying to make is simply that what looks like it isn't much in the eyes of others may be everything to the person who's giving it, and that sometimes what looks like a lot may mean little to the person who's giving it. Maybe he's saying that what's in your heart, what is driving you to give in the first place, is of more significance than the percentage or amount you're giving.