Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

³⁸ As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁰ They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

The Widow’s Offering

⁴¹ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Mark 12:38-44 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus’ description of the proud scribes first calls to mind certain people in modern times – politicians that grandstand on religious and family values while being guilty of financial, marital, and/or ethical indiscretions. It’s almost too easy to relate to. But, Jesus isn’t just warning us to be wary of boastful scribes, He is warning us to not become one of them.  

In our pursuit to follow Jesus, the lines between being faithful and becoming self-righteous can become blurred, if we are not careful. It doesn’t take much to go from attending service every Sunday to looking down on those that miss (or skip!), or, from joyfully placing an offering in the collection plate to watching who places what and how often.

Jesus also talks about how the scribes “devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.” They are not only guilty of being self-righteous and prideful; they are guilty of using their position of trust/authority to prey upon the vulnerable, which is why they will be punished in the end. They are terrible stewards.

Jesus then contrasts the rich people’s offerings to that of the poor widow. He doesn’t say much about the rich people. He doesn’t say whether they gave an appropriate tithe or not. We only know that despite giving a lot of money, they are still rich. He focuses instead on the widow.

The widow serves as a foil to the scribes. We don’t know anything else about the widow other than she is poor. She has no social standing. The little that she gives - all that she has - will make no financial impact to the temple. Yet, He praises her and says that she “has put more into the treasury than all the others.” Why? It’s not because she gave a greater percentage of her money compared to the rich people. It’s because she didn’t withhold. She gave freely and put her trust in the Lord that it would all be okay anyway. That is what God wants from all of us. He wants us to trust in Him. He wants us to give of ourselves freely in His name.

My family doesn’t tithe…yet. We’ve raised our pledges every year but we’re not at a point where what we give can be considered an actual tithe of 10%. We give as we can. Sometimes it’s less than what we can actually give and sometimes it’s our last $5. But it hasn’t always been that way.

Sometimes, when faced with giving our last dollars or keeping it just in case, I chose to keep it. Then one day, a young single mother, that often struggles to make ends meet, sat next to me in service. As the offering plate came around, I put our envelope in the plate. She reached into her purse, hesitated, and then placed $20 in the plate. And I wondered…was that her last $20?

I often think about that day when I place money in our offering envelope. And now, when some weeks are leaner than others, I don’t hesitate to put our last few dollars in the collection plate and just pray for the best. It’s a very small way for me to take a leap of faith. Yes, a couple dollars here and there add up but in the grand scheme of things, taking that leap and giving all you have does more for you spiritually than it does for the church financially. And that’s kind of the point.

Does that mean that we should give all that we have, every time? I don’t think so. Some people dislike when messages in service turn their focus to giving more. They see it as the church’s way to ask for more money for more things they think it might not necessarily need. And I’d be lying if I didn’t think this sometimes myself.

Jarrod mentioned something in the service this past Sunday that didn’t really strike me until I started writing this post.  He said we needed to notice people more. I didn’t give it much thought at first as I like to think that I do notice when people are in need and step in to help when I can. 

But Jarrod said something else. He said that relationships are just as important as tradition. Traditional “giving” dictates that we contribute 10%. Relationships demand more than that. Sometimes, they can be risky. Sometimes, we’re afraid that if we put ourselves out there, that we may bite off more than we can chew.  But God wants us to take that leap and give freely and let Him figure out the rest.  As I was writing about the young lady that inspired me to contribute more financially, I realized that even though I wondered if that was her last $20, I didn’t do anything about it. I didn’t invite her over for dinner to make sure she and her kids had something to eat. I didn’t ask her if she wants to wash clothes at my house instead of spending so much money at the laundrymat. I haven’t done more than I can. Doing more doesn’t necessarily mean writing bigger checks. And to think, I sought out to use her as an example to give more even though I failed to be more for her!

What Jesus is ultimately asking of us in modern times is to be better stewards of our blessings. We can look to the poor widow as a good mentor for good giving - in those times when we feel like we don’t have anything to give, give anyway. I don’t think that means we have to give to our last penny every time. But we also have our prayers, presence, talent, time, and witness to give. And many times these are more precious than adding an extra zero to a check or dropping an extra bill in the offering plate.