#widows mite

[paulprestigegems]

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[barbh]

Simple Gifts

And Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and began watching how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large amounts.And a poor widow came and put in two lepta coins, which amount to a quadrans.Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;44 for they all put…

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[kgstoryteller]

Prosperity & Joy?-latest riff on Psalm 4, & excerpt from “killing justice: the taste of knives”, ‘coexisting with chaos’ section

“I, Lord, am asking, ‘When will you bring me prosperity? Let the light of your face shine upon me. Fill my heart with joy!’” Psalm 4: 6-7a

I donated fifty dollars last night to my church, the Westside Vineyard. That was my “widow’s mite”, my tithe, as it came to ten percent of the five hundred dollars I made this past month.

Why is that significant? Because for the decade between 1999 and 2009, during which time I earned roughly six hundred thousand dollars and donated both time and money to plenty of charitable organizations, I didn’t donate any money to my church. I didn’t even bother going to church. I was working as an immigration lawyer, and in doing so I was of counsel to Joseph, and he went to church every Sunday, sang in the choir, taught Sunday school, served as an elder, and tithed faithfully. Surely I could just ride on his religious fervor as a way of compensating for my lack thereof. I took my relative prosperity for granted, and would eventually pay a steep price for having done so.

Or, more recently, take the year between the summer of 2016 and the summer of 2017. In the summer of 2016, I was working two jobs, making roughly fifteen hundred dollars a month, and my beloved Pops and beloved birth mom Adele Priestley were both still alive. And while I was attending church throughout that year, once again I took my relative prosperity for granted, and failed to donate a dime to my church. By the summer of 2017, I was down to just one job, making around five hundred dollars a month, and had lost both Pops in the fall of 2016 and Adele Priestley in the spring of 2017.

So why, now that I seem to have reached the lower limits of my downward mobility descent, short of having no job at all, do I now finally feel the freedom to donate to my church? Because I can finally see just how miserable I was back when I was much more materially prosperous. Both working with Joseph for that decade, and that second job I had for that year, were toxic work environments in which my soul was dying. Fortunately for me, my soul managed to crawl its way back to freedom both times, even if each time meant a further slide on the scale of downward mobility for me. 

And now that I’ve finally allowed myself permission to begin grieving the loss of Pops in the fall of 2016, the loss of Adele in the spring of 2017, two of the people who’d managed to love me better than I’ve been able to love myself during my more than half a century on this planet, and the loss of my second job this past summer, I can truly say that, for the first time in more than eighteen years, I am finally beginning to remember what it once felt like to have the light of God’s face shine upon me, and to have a heart filled with joy. 

Although I still ache for those, like my brother Derek (aka: Meister Smith) and my sister Shauna Giles Ryall, who both were in too much pain to be able to enjoy Christmas dinner this year, I am reminded of the fact that no matter how severe our current sufferings may be, they pale in comparison to the joy set before us. And, more importantly, that the joy found within us is greater still than the joy set before us. For Jesus had his baptismal vision in which he was reminded that he was God’s beloved son, just as I had Pops’ telling me to “take a deep breath” when I’d blown my law school scholarship those thirty three years ago, which was his way of letting me know that I was his beloved son, to give us each that joy within which nothing outside of us can ever strip away. So I am slowly learning what it means to make joy my ground, rather than my goal. 

And it was with that joy flooding my heart that I gratefully made my fifty dollar “widow’s mite” donation to my church last night.

image: http://www.miltongoh.net/uploads/7/9/6/9/7969926/499280670_orig.jpghttp://www.miltongoh.net/miltons-blog/followtheholyspirit

&, i kid you not, here’s what I found on that blog directly above the image found above: You don't have to tithe, you get to tithe.

(and that was AFTER I’d chosen the image above, & AFTER I’d added the line about Jesus’ baptism in my rewrite of the above chapter)...God certainly does work in mysterious ways...

[alice-in-bibleland]

No one can serve two masters

 Luke 21:1-4, "And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had."  

Jesus allows us to see that giving and tithing has nothing to do with how much it is. It has to do with your heart motive. She Gave All She Had .Jesus said that the poor widow gave more than them all because she gave out of poverty in faith. Faith pleases God. It is impossible to please God without faith. "For whatsoever is not of faith is sin." (Romans 14:23b) The poor widow gave out of faith and love. See it is easy to give out of abundance but it takes faith to give out of lack. 

 Yes, it’s hard to serve God with our money while we are still a slave to debt. It’s also hard to serve God with our money while we are a slave to possessions as well. One question frequently asked is “Should I continue to tithe while I’m getting out of debt?“ Sometimes I get its close cousin “Why should I start tithing if I’m trying to get out of debt?”  

2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

God can see things about you that no one else can see. Deep things. Hidden things. You know, those inner thoughts and desires that your family and friends have no idea are even floating around in your heart and mind God is looking at that place inside you where your mind is constantly weighing various options. This means He is looking at more than just your behavior. He is looking at why you do what you do. That goes to the level of the heart. 

God Wants Your Heart, Not Your Money 

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:6–8).

God does not judge a person by what they’ve given; He judges them by what they’ve kept. We need to be a wise steward, and part of that is making the decision to get out of debt, and then give to God. There are only two pathsvwe can take towards Godly stewardship. One leads to debt as our master, and the other path leads to financial freedom as our master. Which path are you going to choose?  should you tithe while getting out of debt? 

Only you can answer that question for yourself and your family. Weigh out the pros and the cons, ask the right questions, pray about it, and you’ll come to the right decision. No one can serve two masters .

[shanemacademianut]

A wholly sacrificial offering

"While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. 'I tell you the truth,' Jesus said, 'this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.'" (Luke 21:1-4) It doesn't how much you give, it's about how you give. The widow didn't have much, but she gave everything. Most of the time, we choose to give out of what's left over. She gave out of all she had. Do we dedicate ourselves to truly give a loving and sacrificial offering? Do you set Him as your number one priority, or does He take second place? I can have a problem with this too. But if we seek first His Kingdom, everything else shall be added unto you. (Matt. 6:33) He'll take care of you. If our earthy fathers take care of us, being sinful, how much more will God take care of us! God always provides.

[mormonchannel]

Jesus Teaches about the Widow's Mites

‎"This poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." Mark 12:43-44