Luke 21: 1 – 4
1 He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. 3 And he said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4 for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had.”
The above is from todays reading, Monday November 22, 2010. We all know this short story, the widow putting her few cents into the poor box. Not much, but Jesus said she gave more that all the rest, because she gave from her poverty and the rest gave from their richness. So the question, are we like the widow? Do we give of our poverty?
Do we volunteer when we truly do not have the time, do we place our envelopes in the collection box when we really want that expensive coffee? Are we giving from what we can’t afford, or just what is left over?
I would venture to guess that most of us, me included, find it hard to give from our poverty. I know I look at my bank account prior to making a donation, I check my planner to see what “free time” I have to offer my help. And I will also tell you that I often find that I can’t “afford” it, that I need the money for something or I just want to sit and relax after a long hard week of work. Funny though, we will find that extra money and time, if its something we want, not need, but just want. Like that new DVD that just came out, or that cup of coffee for the drive into work. Think about it, I spent $1.78 almost everyday for a cup of coffee, that money could go to a local charity, or I spend at least 1 hour watching TV every week (truly not much more than that), that hour could be used at the local food bank or Saint Vincent DePaul store.
We all have poverty to give, no matter how rich we are, but do we choose to give it, That’s the question we all need to ask our selves. As for me, I know I don’t, and its something I need to work on, because giving from my richness may feel good, but in truth it’s no sacrifice, Jesus gave of His poverty, his pain and sorrow and death was true poverty. I need to learn to give from my own cross, I need to learn to give not to feel good, but to feel the pain.
Just something to think about over this Christmas session, think about giving a gift of your poverty.
God Bless
Paul
