Tithing

He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

 

Today’s story, where Jesus speaks of a widow tithing, is quite extraordinary for the lessons it teaches. See, widows were not required to tithe — on the contrary, they were to be provided for. God has a soft corner in his heart for widows and orphans, and the psalmist puts it beautifully when he says, “A father to the fatherless, and a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling” (Psalms 68:5). He warns people against taking “advantage of the widow or the fatherless” (Exodus 22:22), and he constantly exhorts people to provide for them along with the poor (see Deuteronomy 14:28-29). 

 

The woman that Jesus saw putting her coins into the treasury was not only a widow, she was also poor. That put her in two “special protection” categories! She was fully entitled to receive; however she gave! And she didn’t calculate percentages before she gave: she gave all! How was she able to do this? Well, one reason was knowing that God’s favor rested upon people like her. A second was a total and complete trust in him. She KNEW she was safe in his hands. How did she know this? From the Scriptures! They told her that God was her provider, and she believed it! She also believed that everything she had came from him.

 

How do we fare in comparison? Do we believe that God is our provider? Do we believe that everything we have comes from God? Or do we believe that whatever we have is because of our efforts, our experience, our expertise? If our answer is the former, we need to put our money where our mouth is; quite literally in this case. This means we need to tithe. It isn’t because God needs our money — he owns the entire universe — it is to acknowledge: one, that God is the one responsible for whatever we have; and, two, that we are responsible for others.

 

But why did the widow put everything she had into the treasury when she wasn’t required to put in more than the obligatory ten percent. A tithe, incidentally, simply means “a tenth”. She did this because she believed that God’s providence in her life would continue. It is an illustration of amazing faith. Now consider this: if we believed that we had a purse that would never empty, would we still be reluctant to tithe? Or would we be reluctant to share our money with others? Those who truly believe in God really have a “magic” purse! 

 

I wish we all understood this. We’d lead lives of such freedom and blessing!

 

Watch the video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/HCXmvIaHfj8



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let’s Get Healed - A Reflection on Matthew 18:21-19:1

Image
  Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, an
Read more

Patience - A Reflection on Luke 2:33-35.

Image
  And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”   This is probably the shortest passage that we have reflected upon this year. In it, we find a man named Simeon making a prophecy about three things. One, about Jesus. Two, about the people of Israel. And three, about the pain that Jesus’ mother Mary would go through. We have seen all his prophecies came true. But who is Simeon? And what can we learn from him? Ok. On the 40th day of his birth, Jesus is taken by Mary and Joseph to the temple to be officially inducted into the Jewish faith. When they were there, a man named Simeon came in to see them.   He is described as “righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the H
Read more

Dying and Killing

  The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled— can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier,
Read more