And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”(Luke 21:1-4)
At the temple, Jesus noticed a long line of rich people who put in a lot of money, perhaps making some kind of display to call attention to their gifts. Then, He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. This widow, with her poverty evident by her clothing and appearance, must have been a welcome sight to a weary Jesus, who had just endured a storm of questions from His enemies (Luke 20).
The rich people gave their big gifts, but the poor widow put only two mites in the offering. The ancient Greek word we translate mites (lepton) literally means “a tiny thing,” When you figure it all out, two mites are 1% of a denarius – 1% of a day’s wage.
Yet, she gave two mites, not just one. The widow might have kept one coin for herself, and no one would blame her if she did. Giving one meant giving half of all her money. Instead, she gave with staggering generosity, and Jesus noted it: this poor widow has put in more than all, meaning all the wealthy people who went before her. Jesus did not say that she put in more than any one of them. He said that she put in more than all of them put together. The others gave out of their abundance, but she gave sacrificially, out of her poverty.
Jesus’ principle here shows us that before God, the spirit of giving determines the value of the gift more than the amount. God doesn’t want grudgingly given money or guilt money. God loves the cheerful giver.
The widow’s gift and Jesus’ comment on it also shows us that the value of a gift is determined by what it costs the giver. This is what made the widow’s gift so valuable. David refused to give God that which cost me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24).
Jesus’ principle here shows us that God does not need our money. If God needed our money, then how much we give would be more important than our heart in giving. Instead, it is our privilege to give to Him, and we need to give because it is good for us, not because it is good for God.
The widow challenged the mindset that says, “I’ll give when I have more.” The widow had virtually nothing, yet she was a giver. This means that we can all please God with our giving just as much as the richest man can please God with his giving. Whatever we give sacrificially to God, He sees it and is pleased
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