We can learn much about sacrificial giving from the account of the widow's mite in Luke 21:1-4 and Mark 12:41-44. The widow's mite teaches that giving is much bigger than the gift. The gift is an iceberg above the water, and below the surface is the sacrifice that went into it. The gift is a tree, and the roots in the ground are the sacrifice that went into it. Read or listen to this material from Your Finances God’s Way to learn more.

https://youtu.be/nLCGb0opbIk

We can learn about sacrificial giving from the account of the widow's mite in Luke 21:1-4 and Mark 12:41-44. Giving is bigger than the gift.

Table of contentsThe Widow's Mite Shows Sacrifice Is More Important than the AmountThe Widow's Mite Is a Window Into Eternal RewardsOur Sacrificial Giving Is WorshipThe High Priest, Priesthood, Temple, and Sacrifices Under the New CovenantWe See Sacrificial Giving with AbrahamWe See Sacrificial Giving with Animal SacrificesWe See Sacrificial Giving with DavidGive According to Your IncomeWhat About American Christians' Giving?Give Because Our God Is a GiverFootnotes

When Katie and I were part of a home fellowship early in our marriage, a couple joined the group soon after being released from prison. Even though they hadn’t been Christians for long, their affection for the Lord was evident. They were thankful that He had forgiven them, that He would want a relationship with them after their actions, and that He would allow them to begin new lives in Christ. Because of the decisions that led to their incarcerations and the burned bridges with most, if not all, family members and friends, it wouldn’t be too much to say that our home fellowship was just about all the relationships they had.

They were part of our group when Katie was pregnant with Rhea. Everyone was excited for us, but perhaps because this couple had no children or grandchildren, they seemed more excited than anyone else. They desperately wanted to give Rhea a gift when she was born, but as you can guess, they didn’t have much.

They settled on a dirty, smelly blanket, which they put in a torn plastic bag. They were smokers, so we had to put the blanket on the sanitary cycle on our washer quite a few times, but we still couldn’t get rid of the smell. While the blanket didn’t cost much and was never helpful to us, the gift was significant.

Why? Because they had so little, we knew the sacrifice that went into the gift. Giving is much bigger than the gift. If I can use two analogies:

The gift is an iceberg above the water, and below the surface is the sacrifice that went into the gift.

The gift is a tree, and the roots in the ground are the sacrifice that went into the gift.

Everything behind the giving is more important than the gift itself. The premier example of this in scripture is the account commonly called the widow’s mite:

Luke 21:1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.

There’s a lot in commentaries about how much – or how little – she put in. I could bore you with a discussion of the different coins of the day, but I don’t think it’s necessary. You get the point that she put in a tiny amount.

The shocking part of the widow’s mite is that she had only two mites and gave them both. She might have kept one coin for herself, and no one would have blamed her if she had. Instead, she gave both with staggering generosity.

Luke 21:3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.

Jesus called His disciples to talk to them about what He saw. The parallel account in Mark 12:41 says, “Many rich people put in large sums.” Jesus wasn’t impressed with the large sums the rich people contributed. Instead, He drew their attention to the widow's mite. Although the ESV doesn’t include the word “how” in Mark 12:41, most other translations – such as the NASB, Amplified, NKJV, and KJV – say Jesus watched “how” people put money in the offering box.

This is important because it reveals one of the main points of the account: Jesus wasn’t just watching what they gave. He was watching HOW they gave. He looked beyond the amount to the way it was given.

1 Samuel 16:7b The Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

The widow's mite is an excellent example of this verse because Jesus didn’t look at this woman’s giving as everyone else did. Man would see that the rich people put in the most money, but in verse 3, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all.”

The Widow's Mite Shows Sacrifice Is More Important than the Amount

If they put in large sums and she put in a tiny amount, how could Jesus say this? The answer is in verse 4:

Luke 21:4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Jesus isn’t talking about the amount of money. He’s talking about the amount of sacrifice. He isn’t talking about financial giving. He’s talking about sacrificial giving. The rich gave large sums, but they also retained large fortunes, which means they sacrificed little. The widow “put in all that she had, her whole livelihood,” so she sacrificed much.

God judges what we give by what we keep.

G.L. Morrill, Life as a Stewardship: Five Bible Studies of Man's Relation to Things (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1924), 19.

So here’s what’s interesting: A few dollars given by some can be much more than hundreds or thousands given by others. Conversely, hundreds or thousands given by some can be much smaller than a few dollars given by others.

The Widow's Mite Is a Window Into Eternal Rewards

If we get an elevated view of the widow's mite, it can serve as a window into how the heavenly reward system works. The widow had no idea Jesus was watching her, just as we easily forget that the Lord is watching us. There’s no indication the widow heard what Jesus said to the disciples, just as we don’t know what the Lord thinks of our giving. We can store up treasure or rewards in heaven:

Matthew 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

When the widow put the coins into the treasury, it was as though they were deposited into her heavenly account as well, just as we can lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven.

Considering Jesus said she put in more than everyone else, the amount she deposited in eternity was greater than that in the box. She put in two mites on earth but “[laid] up for [herself much more] in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” On the other hand, the “rich put in much” on earth but little, maybe only two mites, in heaven.

Our Sacrificial Giving Is Worship

Why doesn’t God care as much about the amount we give? The simple answer is He doesn’t need our money. He can accomplish His goals with or without our help. If we give a little but God needs a lot, He has no problem obtaining what He needs because He has plenty of money:

Deuteronomy 10:14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.

Psalm 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.

Haggai 2:8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.

God owns everything, so He doesn’t ever think; I sure hope so-and-so will give enough, or I will be in trouble. But this raises another question: If God doesn’t need our money, why does He want us to give? The answer is twofold: First, it is one of His ways of giving to us. He graciously gives us the opportunity to participate in His work.

Second, because giving is an act of worship, He allows us to worship Him. Unfortunately, when we hear the word worship, we typically picture singing in church, but we should think of worship in terms of sacrifice. Our worship isn’t defined by the amount we give. Instead, our worship is defined by the amount we sacrifice.

The High Priest, Priesthood, Temple, and Sacrifices Under the New Covenant

Under the New Covenant, we might believe there’s no high priest, priesthood, temple, or sacrifices, but that’s not true:

There’s still a high priest - Hebrews 4:14 says, "We have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God."

There’s still a priesthood - 1 Peter 2:5 says, "You [are]…a holy priesthood."

There’s still a temple - 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God?"

And there are still sacrifices! Notice 1 Peter 2:5 and 1 Corinthians 3:16 don’t say we have a priesthood or temple; they say we are a priesthood and temple, and just like we are priests and the temple, we’re also expected to be sacrifices:

Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to PRESENT YOUR BODIES AS A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy and acceptable to God, which IS YOUR SPIRITUAL WORSHIP.

Did you catch the relationship between sacrifice and worship? Under the Old Covenant, God accepted the sacrifices of dead animals as worship, but with Christ’s sacrifice, dead animals are no longer acceptable. Instead, we worship by offering ourselves as living sacrifices, meaning our lives are lifted up in worship.

What does this have to do with giving? Giving can be worship, but it must involve sacrifice. Let me give you three examples, bringing us to our next lesson:

We See Sacrificial Giving with Abraham

The “principle of first mention” states that God reveals the truest meaning of words the first time they’re used in the Bible.