Do the right thing

From an early age, we are taught how to interact with the people around us. We learn to be polite, to share, and to be considerate. These skills, along with others like them, have become the expected norm of acceptable behavior in our societies.

In today’s first reading, the widow would rather starve than deny a visitor hospitality. She put Elijah’s needs above her own. It was the right thing for her to do. In a similar way, the widow in today’s gospel also put the needs of others above her own. She put her precious coins in the treasury of the temple. She was fulfilling her responsibility to God by providing for others. It was the right thing for her to do.

Christians are taught from an early age that our purpose is to live in service of others: to help those who are in need, thirsty, or hungry. This fits well with how we have been taught to interact with others in society. As members of the human race, it is our responsibility to contribute to the common good. As Christians, we must be good to others as a way to earn eternal salvation.