And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”

                                                                                                       Luke 21:1-4 

Today: Read Luke 21

Faith is the evidence of things unseen. If we can calculate what, when, and why something will occur, it doesn’t require faith. If we can see the end result and it is based solely on our efforts, faith is not involved. This truth applies in giving. Today’s passage reveals to us a woman who had great faith. Jesus was observing people as they were placing an offering into the treasury. Many were giving and some were depositing large amounts of money. But a woman came and gave two copper coins. For our purposes let’s think of these coins as two pennies. That’s hardly enough to make any kind of difference at all, right? Jesus evaluated her giving by saying that she had put more into the treasury than any of them. The basis for this statement was that she had given all that she had while the others were simply giving out of their surplus. Jesus gauged the “amount” of this woman’s gift by her willingness to sacrifice.

This type of living requires faith. It is a complete and absolute surrender of one’s finances to God. It is a trust in the Savior that is tangible and real. We can discuss all day long about how much faith we may or may not have, but for the one who willing to place all of their material wealth on the line, this person is truly living a life of faith.

Today, this type of living often seems to be pushed aside for one of self-reliance and indulgence. Our culture promotes prosperity in just about every facet of life. Success is often defined as one who is competitive, productive, and amassing large amounts of wealth. The more one has, the more “successful” we declare them. Jesus speaks of a completely different gauge for success. When we fall into the material wealth trap, we certainly can enjoy a sense of leisure and fulfillment but if at the same time we are spiritually poor, we are shortsighted and foolish. Consider Jesus’ description of one such person:

And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’

                                                                                                     Luke 12:16-19 

I love the way this guy talks to himself. He has accumulated a fortune (as was pertinent to his day). He needed to build bigger barns. Today that would be a broader scope of investment opportunities and greater strategies to make more money. He was preparing for the day in which he could rest and take it easy. “Eat, drink, and be merry” was his heart’s cry. But here is Jesus’ evaluation of this man’s financial philosophy:

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

                                                                                                   Luke 12:20-21

The person who is rich in this life but poor towards God is preparing to loose everything. All of the conventional wisdom will crumble in light of the reality that God gets the last word in all matters pertaining to life. How we use our financial resources will be a part of that overall evaluation of our lives.

There is nothing wrong with working hard and making money as long as it doesn’t become our god. If the very reason we awake everyday is to make money we have probably fallen into the same trap as the man in the parable. As believers, we are expected to use our financial success for the sake of the kingdom. This will require acknowledging two things: (1) In reality, we own nothing rather everything we have is on loan to us only for a time and (2) It is impossible for us to serve God and money simultaneously (Matthew 6:24). Once we yield ourselves to these two realities, we can begin to live a life of sacrificial giving knowing that everything in which we invest in the kingdom will be repaid back to us. Consider Jesus’ words:

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

                                                                                                   Matthew 19:29 

Living in light of this and other promises made in scripture, trusting completely in the One from whom everything comes is what is required for anyone desiring to walk with Christ. The rich man in the parable only thought of his wealth in terms of what he would do with it for himself. The woman depositing her last two coins into the treasury was concerned only with what could be done with her money for the sake of others. One was declared a fool while the other was identified as a superior giver than the rest. Which example best describes the life that you are living?