Final Thoughts on Mark 12:41-44
Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites,which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” NKJV
God sees into our hearts and knows our situations. He sees through any facades. He will be the one who will judge us and he does not measure our giving according to dollar amounts, but according to the attitude of our heart. In II Corinthians 9:7, the Lord says, “Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
God also wants us to give from our abundance, not from a legalistic tithing duty. Far too often, Christians give their tithe and think, “Well, I’ve done my duty.” It is interesting to note that nowhere in the New Testament does God ever command Christians to tithe. Even in Luke 11:42 where Jesus affirms that the hypocritical Pharisees that they ought to have tithed, He is still speaking under an Old Testament economy. And even in this Old Testament frame of reference, He does not use the imperative mood (state it as a command). Have you ever asked yourself why? It is because God does not want us to have a legalistic view of the tithe in which we think we have done our duty if we tithe. He wants us to give freely according to the measure in which He has blessed us so abundantly (I Cor. 16:2), knowing that we cannot give more than God will give back to us (Prov. 19:17).
On the surface, the wealthy who give large amounts of money appear to be making huge gifts to the Lord. This often gains them recognition and praise. However, those who give small amounts may actually be giving far more generously because it costs them so much more to give the smaller amount.
God doesn’t judge the gift by its size, but its sincerity and generosity of heart. Phil Ware
Bethel Bible Church Hawaii 