Dear COA Family,
This week I continue my sharing on my reflection on The Upside Down Kingdom of God in terms of our view of money.
In Luke 21:1-4, Jesus after observing the rich bring their sack loads of gold to give as tithes, then saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He then said something astounding: “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.” (Luke 21:3)
How can this be? In our worldly understanding, two copper coins can never be more valuable than wheelbarrows of gold and silver!
Jesus then goes on to explain: “All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:4)
In other words, God our heavenly Father does not look upon the quantum we give, but the heart of worship of the giver. The amount of gold is mere small change to the rich but the two copper coins severely affects the livelihood of the poor widow. Yet she was willing to sacrifice them out of her love for God. This is why the poor widow has outgiven all of the rich men in God’s sight!
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Often, we think that after we have given of our tithe, which is ten percent of our income, to the church, we have done our duty to the Lord. By doing this, we severely limit the scope of our worship to God and our capacity to love God.
Yet the obligatory tithe is never the intent of Christ for us nor the principle that we should live by in God’s kingdom.
Instead, our Lord teaches us: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)
Our giving should not just be the required tithe each month but a generous giving of our income above and beyond ten percent to the Lord’s work and for the blessing of others. This way, we express and declare our love and dependence on God in a practical way. And as we do so, the Lord promises to provide for all our needs and give us our true reward in heaven.
The Apostle Paul affirms this and further explains how our sacrificial giving help deepen our faith in God:
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
May we, in this season of Lent, not be consumed by the love of money nor be consumed by the worries and cares of this life but be transformed in our trust, devotion and outward actions of love towards God and others!
God bless,
Revd Ian