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| Widow's mite - image from Wikipedia |
The
usual interpretation: focus on the widow & her selfless giving
(v.41-44)
The
usual understanding of the widow's mite is focused on how much we
should give to God. The widow serves as an example to us because even
though she only had a few cents, she was completely determined to
give everything over to God.
All
too often we find ourselves only giving out of the surplus of
“blessings” that God has given to us. I often pray that God will
help us to use our blessings as He intends them to be used. If we are
not careful enough, then we might find God's wonderful blessings as a
“curse”. The difference is how we use what God has given us.
Yes,
the widow does serve as an example to us in how we should give. But
there is more to the story than just the widow...
The
less usual interpretation: focus on the context of passage & why
she gave up all
Reading
the story of the widow's mite within its context will allow us to
gain a better understanding of righteous giving according to God.
Mark 12:35-37 tells us plainly that the crowd enjoyed listening to
Jesus because He had worthy lessons to share. This established Jesus
as a well respected teacher among this group of people.
When Jesus is given this captive audience, He responds by giving them
a strong warning against the “teachers of the law”(Mark 12:38-40
NIV). He specifically mentions their attitude toward widows when He
states, “They devour widow's houses...” Mark 12:40 (NIV). They
will not get away with treating the helpless unfair. They will
receive a severe punishment.
Only
after these previous verses have been factored into the conversation
will the story of the widow's mite be a more complete teaching on
what it means to give. It is not simply that the widow gave all she
had... it is the fact that the widow should not have been put in that
place from the beginning if they treated her as God demands widows to
be treated! The teachers of the law should have given to the widow so
that her needs were already met... not that she had to give up what
little she already had to live on.
Conclusion:
The
widow serves as an example of a faithful giver. We are also called to
contrast her example with that of the teachers of the law. Perhaps
when it comes to our giving, we need to look a the big picture to see
what God would have us to do. Some passages that will help teach us
on this matter include Psalm 146, Acts 6, & 1 Timothy 5.
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