I’ve noticed a reoccurring topic in the Bible, but I haven’t heard anyone sharing about it. It’s about giving up the last thing you have and what happens because of this. I believe it reveals a lot about God’s nature and heart for us, as well as the tendencies and mindsets we need to adjust.

The same amount, but not the same value

It’s easy to see the number of our possessions when we have it written on our bills and coins. Yet, the same $10 bill for one won’t have the same value for someone else even if the number matches. I’m not talking about exchange rates or value depending on geographical position within the world. I’m speaking about the worth that our hearts tend to put on possessions in different situations.

Let me explain by using a practical example.

Let’s say you got paid a thousand dollars for the job you did, and you have no idea when the next payment is going to come. For the sake of example, let’s say you got it all in $10 bills. As you leave your house to go for a walk, you meet a homeless person and give him one of the $10 bills. It doesn’t seem much as you know that you still have ninety-nine of those left.

A couple of weeks pass by. Still no payment. You go down to a hundred dollars, which is only ten of those $10 bills. You start to save up and evaluate before you spend any of these. Do you see how the value increased?

Money has a fixed value until there human emotion is attached. For a rich person, a hundred dollars would be small change, but for someone in need it could be an enormous treasure.

It appears that scarcity skyrockets the value. It changes the attitude we have of the possesions as they begin to run out.

The poor widow

It’s not about the amount but the worth we put on an object in our hearts. God seems to be interested not in the number, but in the value we have attached to it.

You most likely remember this passage:

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41–44, ESV)

Jesus compares the amounts given by looking at the heart value. The small and, in the eyes of the rich, pitiful amount is seen by God as the most valuable. Instead of spending on food, the widow chooses to bless God with, as Jesus puts it, “all she had to live on.” It was given to the house of the Lord.

Have you ever thought why this story has no end? Have you wondered what happened after Jesus pointed out this act of great faith to His followers?

There’s no account of Jesus giving money to the poor, but I have no doubt that supporting the needy was His regular act. Remember when Jesus gave the bread to Judas Iscariot during the Last Supper and told him to do quickly what he was about to do? Other disciples thought that Jesus was urging him to buy something for the feast or give to the poor (John 13:26–30). The disciples spent a lot of time with Jesus, and they came up with this conclusion because Jesus was constantly giving to the poor.

Other verses in Acts show the early church taking care of the poor and widows. The letters show the importance of charity. Jesus would’ve been a hypocrite if He wasn’t practicing Himself what He asks His followers to do.

Therefore, I am convinced that after pointing out the widow's generous heart in the temple, Jesus looked at Judas and asked him to bless the lady. I believe she left worshipping God, as her needs were met.

The widow received a reward for her generosity and left with more than before.

The widow and Elijah

There is another instance that is worth pointing out. God led Elijah to a widow who was appointed to feed him. She had enough for only one more meal and didn’t see a happy ending for herself and her son. Elijah came and gave this woman some hope.

Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord , the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. (1 Kings 17:13–16, ESV)

The widow chose to trust the promise of God given through Elijah instead of the remains of her possessions. God extended her possessions because of her generosity. The last possession she had she was willing to lay down for God in faith, and that became a blessing not only for her household but also for her guest.

Jesus

The one who really stands on the pinnacle of generosity, sacrifice, and love is God Himself. Although He has no scarcity in His possessions, there is one thing He doesn’t have an infinite amount of.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, ESV, emphasis mine)

As I said before, God is not a hypocrite. He is willing to do Himself what He asks us. He gave His only Son so that we could live.

Just as the two widows received a provision for their generosity and not a complete loss, God is also, even still today, reaping the benefits of the sacrifice.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29, ESV, emphasis mine)

Jesus made a way for us to become children of God. God gave His only Son, and now by faith, we become Jesus’ brothers and sisters who are justified, clean, and able to call God “Father.”

Final thoughts

There is power in laying the things we value most at the feet of God. I’m not saying we must do it, but I believe we need to be ready to be generous even when it doesn’t seem beneficial to us, or it doesn’t make sense naturally.

God does not wish for us to live in lack, but He wants us to learn to be generous. We seem to rely more on the last couple of dollars we have than upon the Provider Himself.

True love is giving, as He has shown by giving us Jesus. Love that sacrifices and sees the other as higher than oneself. Such a radical giving doesn’t leave the giver empty-handed. The only thing he loses is greed, which shouldn't have been part of him in the first place.

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